Secrets Revealed
by iheartGibbs
Summary: One sister uncovers a secret at work, the other holds a secret a decade old. Now on the run from both evils, they find themselves far from home and turning to a long lost acquaintance. Will they find salvation, or even more trouble? Co author  Calalily06
1. On the Run

**Chapter One – On the Run**

Throwing the last bag of clothes and photo albums into the back of the truck, Jenna slammed the door shut before remembering. "CRAP!"

"What?" Brenna asked, starting the engine.

"I have to get something!"

"We have everything, Jenna," Brenna said, her eyes on the street in front of the house. She tossed her long, brown hair back off her shoulders in nervous anxiety.

"No, we don't."

From the truck, Brenna watched her younger sister run back into the house. With another glance in the rearview mirror, she breathed a sigh and rolled her eyes. What on earth could Jenna be up to?

Jenna ran into the foyer and pulled the bottom drawer of the desk open. Removing the false bottom, she pulled out an off-white envelope. Running and out of breath, she hopped into the passenger side of the truck as Brenna screeched out of the driveway. They barely managed to turn the corner and get onto the highway before a dark blue SUV pulled up in front of the house they had rushed to vacate.

Jenna saw Brenna glancing at the envelope clutched to her chest as she maneuvered through traffic, taking them further and further out of the city. Knowing that she didn't have any choice, Jenna decided to tell her. Brenna wasn't the only one who had cause for concern. There was another threat looming; one so evil that not even the police could stop him.

---

"Okay, Brenna, why did we have to leave like that? What's going on? You asked me to trust you and you'd fill me in later." Jenna gestured to the clock then out the window at the darkness. "I think this is later."

"I had to take a report to Dexter. He was in the lab in the south wing. When I walked in, the people in the testing area were wearing HAZMAT suits."

"And how is that different from normal?"

Brenna rolled her eyes. "We don't use chemicals that are harmful to breathe, Jenna. At DAX Pharmaceuticals, we pride ourselves in making drugs as close to holistic that you can get. You know that. I got a look at one of the formulas for what they were developing, and they weren't using innocuous ingredients."

Jenna didn't understand what her sister was implying. Damien wouldn't allow his employees to make anything harmful in the DAX labs. "What were they using?"

"With the formula that I saw, at the strength they had written out, one pill would kill someone. And if that someone was left to rot, the noxious gases given off would kill several more."

"So, why are we running?"

"Because Franklin had security keeping too close an eye on me this afternoon. I knew something wasn't right when one of the guards came to escort me out of the lab early. I avoided him and snuck out the back, called you… and the rest is history."

"Did you take anything from the lab?" Jenna asked, looking down at the envelope in her hands.

"No! Are you crazy?! I couldn't chance having anything found on me. You won't believe how glad I was that Damien left early so we could get to the bank." Brenna's eyes narrowed. Now that she stopped to think, that seemed odd. "Did he say why he had to leave?"

"Yes, Brenna; Reenie was sick and he had to stop and get some soup to take home."

"Doesn't he have staff at home to take care of that?"

Jenna sighed. "Yes, he does. Don't crucify the man for being a good father. Not everyone wants their staff to take care of every little issue. Besides, Reenie loves the loaded baked potato soup from the diner down the street and Damien has a weakness for their desserts. He probably volunteered so he could indulge his sweet tooth without Victoria hounding him about it."

Frowning, Brenna took the next exit and stopped at a gas station. Putting a scarf over her head, she stepped out to fill up. Jenna grinned at how cautious she was being, but decided to follow suit. Winding her brown hair up, she pulled a ball cap on, and went inside to pay for the gas and buy some sodas and munchies for the trip.

On the road again, she shook her hair out and opened her Snickers bar. "Are you sure you don't want one right now?"

Brenna threw her a look that answered that question, and Jenna put the bag of goodies at her feet.

"I have a friend from college. He's an FBI agent out of DC now. I think we should contact him about what I saw."

Jenna's eyes widened. "DC? As in Washington DC?"

Brenna gave her sister a glance that she couldn't really see in the dark cab of the truck. "You know, our nation's capital? Big city. Northeast of here?"

"Very funny, Brenna," Jenna said, rolling her eyes at her sister's attempt to lighten the mood.

"I figure, not only can Sean help, but DC is a big enough city for us to easily cover our tracks in."

"Good idea," Jenna agreed. She gave the envelope another look, still searching for the courage to tell her sister of the events that had transpired just over ten years ago.

"I say we drive as far as we can tonight, and then stay in a cheap motel just long enough to catch a few hours sleep. I'd like to get to DC as soon as possible," Brenna continued, still planning out every detail, as was her custom.

"Brenna?" Jenna said her sister's name hesitantly, almost fearfully.

"What is it? Is this about the envelope you went back for? The one you've been staring at for the past three hours?"

"Brenna, there's something you need to know. Could we go ahead and stop at some out of the way place now? I don't really want to do this while we're on the move."

Brenna's affirmative nod went unnoticed in the dark, but Jenna sighed in relief as she felt the truck slow. Brenna pulled off at the next exit, bypassing the hotels closest to the Interstate to find a place a little off the beaten path. The girls grabbed their overnight bags and checked in quickly, paying cash and using false names.

Finally in their room, Jenna led Brenna to the sofa and sat down next to her. Seeing that she had her sister's complete attention, Jenna began to speak.

"Do you remember Ben? I dated him for a while my senior year of high school, while you were away at college."

"I remember a cute guy coming to Aunt Rachel's for Christmas that year. Yeah, I remember," Brenna responded, trying to figure out where her sister was going with this. "What is going on, Jenna? What has you so freaked out?"

"Do you remember, at graduation, how happy I was to stay in Louisiana with Great-Aunt Rachel and go to the community college?"

"Yeah; I thought it was weird, because for the three or fours years since Mom and Dad died, all you had talked about was coming to live with me as soon as you graduated."

"Right. I wanted to stay to be near Ben. But something happened. Something bad and we agreed it was better to not see each other anymore."

"What happened, Jenna? I mean, how bad could it be? You were eighteen years old, and a good girl. You weren't into drugs or... Did you get pregnant?!"

"No! It wasn't anything like that!" Jenna was vehement, and then turned quiet again. "It would have been better if that had been the case."

"Better?! Jenna, what is going on?"

Rubbing her temples against the headache she felt coming on, she said, "There was this other guy, he liked me but he was too… ick I guess. He was rich and thought he was God's gift."

"I know the type," Brenna rolled her eyes, and then quieted to allow her sister to continue.

Remembering back, she continued, "He met up with us one night and goaded Ben into racing him. I tried to tell him not to, but he was so sick of Mike being in his face all through the year that he'd had enough."

Brenna absently ran her hands through her hair, trying desperately to keep her mind from all the different things her sister could be about to say. This was the last thing they needed right now, with Franklin already on their tail.

"It was so bad. I knew from looking that something wasn't right with Mike. He was too keyed up for this all to be about some stupid competition for my attention." Rubbing her arms, she pulled a blanket from the dresser next to the sofa to wrap around her. "I wasn't in the car with Ben. But I watched the race. It was so short, nothing should have happened."

"Jenna, what happened?"

Continuing on, Jenna looked straight ahead, her eyes trained on a small imperfection in the paint on one spot of the far wall. "He swerved. From where I was watching, it looked like Mike swerved to ram Ben's car. It didn't work that way though. He lost control. His car flipped. I ran all the way to it, hoping, praying he was okay. From the way he was laying, I knew he wasn't. Ben felt for a pulse, but there wasn't one. I guess he must have snapped his neck or something. He was dead."

"What did the police say about the race when you called them?"

Looking down, she told Brenna, "We didn't call them. At least not right away."

"You didn't call the cops? Jenna, what were you thinking? Sure, Ben might have gotten in a little trouble, but it would have been nothing next to what you could get for leaving the scene. Why didn't you call me?"

"You don't understand, Brenna." Jenna laughed but the sound was flat. "I told you Mike was rich. His father wouldn't have let it go. He would have buried Ben and me. I couldn't call you and possibly ruin your life. Ben said his sister could help us. She was taking forensics courses and Ben was right. She helped us out: covered any evidence of our presence at the scene. When we were far enough away, she called 911 and told them she had driven by an accident. When they questioned her on the location, she told them she had to wait until she got to a pay phone to call it in. She never gave them her name; she hung up when they asked. She cleaned the evidence from there, too."

"So no one ever caught on? Did the police close the case?"

"No, no one ever knew. We kept our mouth's shut and the police ruled it an accident. It turned out Mike was high."

"Pardon me for sounding stupid, but if the police ruled it an accident, why are you worried about this now?"

With a sick smile, Jenna held up the envelope. "Because I have something on his father. Something that I think he knows Mike had. His father is Sterling Lancaster, Brenna."

"Sterling Freakin' Lancaster? Like THE Sterling Lancaster? Holy crap, Jenna, what were you thinking going anywhere near his son! He's probably fitting out concrete boots for the both of you even as we speak... Which tells me that he doesn't know. Right? If you're okay and Ben's okay, then Lancaster doesn't know the truth. What makes you think he may now? I mean, you've been living with this secret for ten years."

"I never say he did know, Brenna!" Jenna burst out. "I have this feeling that he knows and he's going to find me, okay? That's all! Aren't we running tonight because of your feeling?"

"Shhh… Calm down," Brenna said as she pulled her younger sister into her embrace. She slowly stroked her hair. "I'm sorry. You're right. We're here because of what happened at DAX."

Jenna pulled away from her sister slowly, although she maintained contact with her, needing the comfort of her touch. "When I had to go back inside for the envelope, I knew I had to tell you the truth. I'm sorry for mentioning it now, while things are already so stressed."

"No worries," Brenna said with a smile. "That's what sisters are for, right?"

Brenna draped her arm casually around Jenna's shoulders. She had felt so responsible for her sister after their parents had died when their small plane went down fourteen years before. She had been nineteen years old and in college. Jenna had only been fourteen. Brenna struggled not to blame herself for the situation her sister had been forced to deal with. If only she had been there… But at her own tender age, the courts didn't deem her capable of taking care of her sister. Jenna had been placed with their Great Aunt Rachel in Louisiana.

Knowing her sister well and sensing her change in attitude, Jenna spoke softly, "It's not your fault. What happened back then – it wasn't something you could have stopped or changed. So, stop blaming yourself, okay? We just have to figure out what to do about DAX and Sterling Lancaster. And I think the person to help us best would be Ben's sister."


	2. Asking For Help

**Chapter Two – Asking for Help**

Adam Franklin walked around the corner of the building to the secluded area that was the prearranged meeting place. He lit up a cigarette and leaned against the side of the building, glancing at his watch for the fourth time. They were late. Franklin had little tolerance for this kind of behavior, and thus was already annoyed when the two men he had hired to apprehend Brenna Davis showed up to meet with him.

"They weren't there."

Franklin's look of displeasure almost made the man step back.

"What do you mean, they weren't there?" he asked slowly.

"We searched the whole house, sir, and we made sure to leave things the way we found them," the nervous man told Franklin. He didn't like getting those looks; they had never bode well in the past. "Their clothes were still hanging in their closets and their dressers seemed full." His partner snickered at that and he hit him in the stomach to shut him up. "There is food in the fridge and pantry. Everything looks as if they'll be coming back."

"Maybe they just went out for the evening," the second man suggested.

Franklin gave the man the look he deserved. "How long did you search the house?"

The first man answered. "It took us about an hour to go through everything. We didn't find anything about the lab either."

Franklin shook his head. "Brenna doesn't need to write things down, you fool! Whatever she saw will stay in her head forever."

"Unless she loses her memory," the second man piped up again.

"Get out of here," Franklin told them. Watching them make their retreat, he mumbled, "Idiots!" He pulled his cell phone out and dialed a number, and then waited until the line was picked up. "I've got a job for you. I need some information."

---

Jenna sighed at the amount of talking on the current radio station. Looking for her purse, she figured she could loop a finger in the strap with one hand and keep them on the interstate with the other. Reaching over, she jumped when Brenna gave her hand a tap.

"What do you need?" Brenna asked, her eyes suggesting Jenna put hers back on the road.

"Can you plug in the iPod? The radio is driving me crazy, and I need music if I'm going to drive."

Digging around in the suitcase Jenna called a purse, Brenna asked, "How do you know it's in here?"

Jenna laughed. "Try the little side pocket. I keep it in there to protect it from the rest of the stuff I carry."

Brenna pulled it out and hooked it up to the truck's stereo system. Before long, the soundtrack to Grease was playing and the girls were singing along to "Hopelessly Devoted to You".

As the song ended, Jenna turned the volume down a little and said, "We should be in DC by morning. I really think we should contact Ben's sister. I think she can help out with both situations."

"We'll need a prepaid cell phone first. I don't want anything leading anyone to us, and pay phones are just inconvenient."

Jenna nodded. "I agree. Now I see how smart it was for you to leave our cell phones in that rest stop back in Texas."

Brenna grinned. "Starting to listen to your older sister? Have I suddenly been sent to a parallel universe?"

"Ha ha. I've always known you were smart, and you usually give great advice. This isn't the first time I've listened to you."

They laughed together, and then squealed in delight when "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee" started playing.

---

Franklin was in a foul mood. It was as he suspected; they hadn't just gone out for the evening. After having a GPS search for their cell phones, they had been found wiped clean and dumped in the trash at a rest area. Further inquiries proved that they had emptied their bank accounts. It was official; they were running. He just didn't know to where, and that was bugging him.

Staring at the Private Investigator sitting in front of him, he said, "I want full backgrounds on these two. More in-depth than we do at the time of hire."

"Why?" the PI asked. He was the man the company turned to for all their background checks.

"I'm head of security; I don't need a reason. Just see that it gets done."

Unhappy with the orders, and suspicious of Franklin's motives, the PI left the office. He was determined that the Davis sisters wouldn't be the only ones into whose backgrounds he would research.

---

"Brenna, let's go out to dinner," Jenna said, suddenly excited.

"Bad idea, Jenna. We need to keep moving; maybe just grab something from a drive through."

Jenna sighed, "I'm tired of drive through fast food already. I want to sit down and have a steak with a baked potato smothered in butter and a salad loaded with toppings and drowning in dressing." When she saw Brenna looking in her direction, she gave her sister her most pitiful look.

Laughing, Brenna told her, "That look isn't going to work on me. We should stop at the first fast food place we come to, get some burgers or a crappy fast food salad, and then check into a motel."

Giving up the quest, Jenna shrugged, "Okay, but can it be fish and chips this time? That burger from lunch did not taste the best."

Spying a seafood place ahead, Brenna told her, "Fish and chips it is."

They ordered their food and drove a few short miles down the road to another motel off the beaten path. Checking in, they grabbed their bags and their food and went inside to settle down for the night. They were only a few hours from the city, but they both needed some sleep and a shower before going in search of help from anyone. When they awoke the next morning, Jenna loaded their bags into the truck as Brenna returned the room key to the desk clerk.

At the nearest gas station, they pulled over to fill up and fell into their new routine. Brenna filled the tank with a scarf covering her head, and Jenna paid and bought essentials with a ball cap covering her hair and face from any cameras. Picking up two prepaid cell phones, she paid cash for them and the other stuff. Within ten minutes, they were back in the truck, heading to the highway, and were getting ready to make the call that would hopefully help them, if not save them.

---

Abby's phone continued to ring as she explained her findings to Gibbs. Hitting the speaker button, she took a breath and said, "This is Abby; you're on the air."

"Abby...?"

Her brow wrinkling, Abby asked, "Who is this?"

"It's Jenna. Jenna Davis. Abby, I..."

Abby snatched up the phone, "I can't believe it!" she said with forced cheer. Smiling at Gibbs, and seeing his annoyed look, she nodded. "It's so great to hear from you, Jenna! Listen, I'm in the middle of some test results; I'll call you right back, okay?"

Disconnecting the phone, she cut to the chase and gave Gibbs his suspect's name. As he walked out the door, she picked up her phone and redialed the last number received.

---

"So, Abby is Ben's sister?" Brenna asked, assimilating everything in her mind.

"Yes," Jenna said, biting her lip, waiting for the phone to ring again. She was half afraid that Abby wouldn't really call her back.

"Not to mention, she's a forensic scientist working for a federal agency." Brenna sighed, and decided to think positive thoughts. She really hoped Jenna was right, and Abby could help them.

The cell phone rang and Jenna gave her sister a hopeful look as she hit the answer key. "Hello?" Hearing Abby's voice, Jenna let out a relieved breath. "Abby, I'm so sorry to call you... Yes, I know what we agreed… Something's come up though, and my sister and I need help... No, not that kind… I don't feel comfortable telling you over the phone." Listening, she motioned for Brenna and turned the phone so her sister could hear the address as well. "We're in DC now. We can be there," Jenna told her, and put the phone back to her ear. "Abby, thank you for this and please, don't mention this to Ben." Nodding once more before realizing Abby couldn't see her, she said, "See you then. Bye."

"So, can she help us? And why don't you want Ben to know what's going on? Do you have a plan at all?"

"No, I don't have a plan. I'm just shooting from the hip here, Brenna. I want to keep Ben out of this whole thing because he has nothing to do with DAX. Let's just not get ahead of ourselves, go meet with Abby and take it from there. If she can't help, then we can call your FBI friend."

"See! Sounds to me like you have a fine plan," Brenna said with a smile.


	3. Old Friends, New Friends

**Chapter Three – Old Friends, New Friends**

Sterling Lancaster sat behind his mahogany desk and stared at the man trembling before him. "You kept this from me for ten years?" His voice commanded attention and his presence was powerful; dangerous.

Tyrone knew he had confessed the wrong thing the moment the words came out of his mouth. He messed up an operation big time and thought that information on Lancaster's son's untimely death would buy some mercy from the older man. He should have known better. He shouldn't have gotten stoned right after his screw up; that's what had led to him loosening his lips. "Um, ah, well...I didn't remember. I was so shocked at Mike's death that I forgot what he told me."

"You didn't remember that you met with him against my wishes? How do you forget a betrayal like that?"

"Boss, please; I didn't mean to disobey you. Mike called and said he had a question about something. He told me it didn't have anything to do with the business, but it did."

"Do not call my dead son a liar in my presence. What did he tell you about that night? What was he doing? Was he meeting anyone?" The more Lancaster spoke, the more the volume increased, not the mention the unspoken threat that lie behind his words.

Tyrone didn't answer right away, which he immediately regretted. The sexy redhead that loomed above him threateningly shook the arm she held in her tight grasp. Gulping, Tyrone admitted, "He liked this girl. He said he was going to meet up with her. Her name, um, ah it was Jenna. Yeah, Jenna was her name and he seemed happy about meeting her. Said he was going to score and she was taking him home."

Satisfied that Tyrone had told him all he knew, Sterling made a simple motion with his hand. The lady turned and dragged the protesting man from the room, a look of anticipation on her face. One problem would be gone before nightfall. Pressing the button for the intercom, he ordered the maid to bring him Mike's school yearbooks. He'd find this Jenna and then hunt her down. She would pay for taking his son's life and going on with hers.

---

Jenna blinked when she saw Abby walk to the park bench. Her hair was in pigtails and she was wearing a collar around her throat. She motioned in her direction and watched Brenna do a double-take.

"That's Abby?"

Jenna made an affirmative noise and said, "The look has changed a bit since ten years ago, but that's Abby. She was just getting into Goth back then."

The sisters walked over to the other woman and it was Abby's turn to do a double-take.

"Jenna?"

Jenna grinned and shrugged. "I haven't had short hair in years and the retainer was gone soon after I left Louisiana."

"You must be Brenna, then?" Abby said and shook the hand Brenna offered. "What's this about? Why are you coming to me?"

"Jenna and I both work, well worked, at DAX Pharmaceuticals. I'm in research and development. Two days ago, I had to contact another researcher and entered a secure lab. This didn't seem bizarre at first: several of our labs are secure and I have… had… top clearance. Anyhow, I got a look at a formula for a drug being developed in that particular lab, and it raised a red flag. Later that afternoon, security came to escort me out of my own lab. Of course, I evaded them and snuck out the back to my truck. I had a feeling that something was going to happen, so Jenna and I grabbed some things and ran. As to why we're contacting you…" Brenna shrugged, "Jenna trusts you. She wanted to come to you first."

"Wait, what kind of drug was it?"

"Biochemical. Oral form. One pill could kill an adult and the decomposition of that adult could cause others to die."

Abby turned whiter than normal. "Soft targets."

"What?" Jenna asked.

"If this drug is viable..."

"It is," Brenna asserted.

"Then most likely it will be sold to the highest bidder. No one but terrorists beat the government's prices for weapons like this. And terrorists love soft targets as much as buildings, planes and ships. But why bring this to me?" Abby looked at Jenna for the answer.

Sighing, Jenna met her gaze head on. "I don't have any evidence to bring to you. All I know is you were there for me all those years ago, and now I'm in need of assistance again. Of course, you were the first person I thought of. And… well… I've been having a feeling in my gut; I can't describe it. I just feel like something's about to happen with Lancaster."

"Have you told anyone?" Abby needed to know.

"Only Brenna, and not until we were on the run from Adam Franklin, head of security at DAX."

Abby nodded. She understood gut feelings and the need to have someone to lean on. Turning to Brenna, "You're sure this is viable?"

"Yes, the notes I saw were complete. They could start producing this at any time."

"Do you have the formula for the drug? Any sort of documentation," Abby asked, wanting to have as much information as possible before taking any action.

"This is what I do for a living. I don't have anything on paper, but I can remember the formula down to the minutest detail, along with some of the corresponding research information," Brenna replied, hoping it was enough to satisfy her.

Coming to a decision, Abby stood. "We need to tell Gibbs. He'll know what to do."

"Who's Gibbs?" Jenna asked.

Abby grinned. "Oh you'll like him. He's a sweetheart. He's also my boss. But we don't mention a word about ten years ago to anyone. Not unless it becomes urgent. Are we clear?"

"Clear." The sisters agreed. They walked to their vehicle and, climbing into the truck, they took a moment's break from the seriousness of the situation when they saw Abby climb behind the wheel of a hearse. Both girls burst into laughter as Brenna started the vehicle and proceeded to follow Abby.

---

Franklin had received files on the Davis sisters already. At first he thought they were preliminary findings, but a cursory glance through each had told him they were complete. Hmmm. Not too much going on. At the moment, neither woman was in a serious relationship.

Flipping through to the family history, he found that their parents, Tony and Tammy Simpson Davis died in a small plane crash when the girls were in their teens. Brenna was in college at the time and the courts had placed Jenna with their mother's aunt, Rachel Simpson, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Another page turned and he saw that Rachel Simpson had never been married, and had died four years earlier of a heart attack. Frowning at one lead going cold, he kept looking.

Near the back of the file was a notation from the court documents from when the girls' parents died. Janice Simpson, sister of Tammy Simpson Davis, had contested the will and lost. According to testimony from Brenna, the two sisters had not spoken at all since a falling out when the daughters were young. Tucking that information away in his mind, Franklin read on.

Frustrated at the lack of leads in the files, he closed them. Controlling his anger, he stacked them neatly in his briefcase. Damien didn't know about the project in the lab, and he had worked hard to make sure no one outside those working there knew what was going on. He wasn't about to let two sisters destroy years of planning.


	4. The Fall Girls

**Chapter Four – The Fall Girls**

Sterling Lancaster stood in front of the old house. It hadn't sold after Rachel Simpson died, and it looked as if it barely survived the winds and water of Hurricane Katrina. Sterling curled his lip in distaste and sent his minions in.

"See if you can find anything that survived from the time Mike died." He turned sharply and walked back to his limousine. Settling in to look over reports and numbers, he spent over an hour in his car outside the home before one of the three came back carrying a box in his hands.

"Mr. Lancaster? This box had old receipts in it, sir, from 1997."

"What good does a box of old receipts do me?" Sterling asked with a glacial look.

"Well, sir, stuck to one of the receipts was a slip of paper. Looked like an old phone message? It has Jenna Davis' name on it and this other name," the man squinted at the paper, "Abby, Abby Sc-something, but the phone number is still clear."

Holding his hand out for the paper, Sterling looked it over. He sneered. It was probably nothing. What were the chances of a phone message actually having something to do with his son's death? But it wasn't like he had a host of leads to chase down, so he determined to follow every glimmer of a lead, even if it turned out to be a dead end.

"Keep looking. No one leaves until something is found." He motioned for the driver to leave and the man was left standing in the driveway, staring after his boss.

Sterling made a phone call to an investigator he frequently used. "Find out all you can on this number from 1997." Giving the man the phone number and name, he slipped the paper inside an envelope. Better to keep that safe and hidden for now.

---

"It's called romance, McGee. You should try it," Tony said, responding to the teasing he was receiving from the others over the phone call he had just received.

"I sincerely doubt romance has much to do with what you have going on with your mystery caller," McGee said, rolling his eyes in distaste.

"And what do you know of romance, McGee?" Ziva questioned. "Something alluded to in a book you read?"

"When did this become 'pick on McGee hour'? I thought Tony was the target this afternoon," he complained, hoping to turn the attention back to his coworker, who was sitting back in his chair with a smug smile on his face.

"Teasing Tony about romance is not fun," Ziva replied. "It's like teasing a tiger about his spots."

"Tigers have stripes, Zee-vah," Tony interjected.

"Exactly," she answered triumphantly. McGee laughed, gaining a glare from Tony, a satisfied smile from Ziva and a smirk from his boss.

Abby stepped off the elevator into the bullpen, the girls following closely behind her.

Tony dropped his mostly empty coffee cup, not even noticing the possible damage to his keyboard, and froze, his mouth agape. Noting his reaction, McGee turned toward the elevator; his breath hitched and then paused, as if time had temporarily stood still. Ziva and Gibbs turned to find the object of their attention. Gibbs smirked at the sight of Abby leading two very lovely girls toward his desk.

Ziva rolled her eyes, "You act like you've never seen a beautiful woman."

"Beautiful woman? That's like the stairway to heaven," Tony said. Gibbs chuckled. The girls did resemble stair steps: Abby at her towering height, the youngest girl somewhere in the middle and the very petite lady bringing up the rear.

"Behave, Tony," Abby said smartly, "we have guests." Stopping in front of Gibbs desk, she said, "Gibbs, I need to talk to you."

"I figured you were up to something," he said, eyeing each of the girls suspiciously.

Abby smiled. "Gibbs, this is Brenna and Jenna Davis. Ladies, this is Special Agent Gibbs," Abby said, motioning to the man in front of her. "This is Officer David, Special Agent DiNozzo, and Special Agent McGee," she continued, pointing in each person's direction.

Brenna met each team member's smile with one of her own, making eye contact with each, in turn. Except Agent Gibbs, of course, to whom she had turned her back to greet the others. Hearing Abby continue her explanation, she forced herself to turn back around, only to find herself looking directly into the steely blue eyes of Agent Gibbs. She smiled brightly, but received a look of curiosity and suspicion in return.

Jenna greeted each of the team members with a friendly, open expression. She quickly turned back to face Agent Gibbs, watching him secretly from the corner of her lovely brown eyes.

"Gibbs, these are two old acquaintances of mine. Brenna is a scientist who works in research and development for DAX Pharmaceuticals in San Antonio, Texas. She suspects they have a viable oral biochemical weapon ready to be produced at any time."

Gibbs raised his eyebrow at the two women and the younger of the two ducked her head. The petite woman, however, continued to meet his gaze directly and said, "You want to know why we came here and didn't go straight to the DEA? Like Abby said, we know and trust her. We thought the information would be more credible coming from an official source."

"Credible?" Gibbs asked.

"That's understandable, Boss," Tony jumped in to defend, for which he earned his boss' patented stare. "Shutting up now, boss."

"A pill?" Ziva asked. "How many will one kill?"

"At least one person. The decomposition rate of the body and the people exposed to it would alter potential casualty numbers. It is possible one dose could kill several people," Brenna explained.

"Do you have the formula?" Tim asked and blinked when Brenna smiled at him again.

"It's in her head," Jenna finally found her voice. "She doesn't have to write things down to remember them. I have the shopping list at the grocery store, she goes off memory and I still miss things while she never does." Seeing Gibbs staring at her, she looked back down. "She doesn't need to write things down." She repeated.

"Abby, could you work up a model of how many people this could affect? I'd want numbers before I take this outside our agency."

"Sure, with Brenna's help. And Jenna's too," Abby added when she saw the look on Jenna's face. "We'll get right on it, Bossman."

Abby led the women to the elevator amidst the stares and speculative thoughts of the agents throughout the bull pen.

"Did you see that smile? Stunning. She could stop traffic with that," Tony spoke, amazed, and not even caring that they girls could still hear him. "And the other one? I just wanted to gather her in my arms and tell her everything would be okay," he added with a lecherous grin.

"And who would protect her from you, Tony?" Ziva asked.

"Enough!" Gibbs interrupted, frustrated at his team's apparent lack of focus. "While we're waiting for Abby's results, let's see what we can find out about DAX Pharmaceuticals. McGee! When you catch your breath, could you assist?" He shook his head as he turned back to the work on his own desk. He supposed he really couldn't blame them; it had taken a lot of control for him not to have a similar reaction.

---

Franklin was working the only lead he had. He was going through the phone records for Janice Simpson. The woman really led a solitary life. She went from home to work, from work to the store and from there, home again to cook a meal for one. She had a permanent pucker to her mouth as if she had been sucking on too many lemons. And she wasn't pleasant when he approached her door posing as a salesman to gain entry to the house. No bother. He'd just wait until she slept and then go in. It wasn't the first time he'd done the dirty work on his own and he knew it wouldn't be the last. Sometimes the only person you could trust to get the job done was yourself.

Waiting for the old bat to retire for the evening, Franklin busied himself fabricating a detailed paper trail that would prove Brenna Davis responsible for the all the underhanded goings-on in the lab at DAX Pharmaceuticals. He smiled evilly at the thought of the lady who was ruining all his plans going down as a result of her own meddling, and taking her sister with her. "Go ahead, Davis," he said to himself; "I'll be ready."

---

The trio was silent in the elevator. Jenna and Brenna smiled at one another conspiratorially. Abby smirked.

"All I have to say is, WOW," Jenna broke the silence as the elevator's ding announced its arrival and Abby led the way to her forensics lab.

"I know," Brenna chuckled. "I felt like a kid in a candy store. How do you get any work done?" she asked Abby, in half seriousness.

Abby smiled, "It's hard sometimes, but I'm very driven."

"Very lucky is more like it," Jenna added.

"What was up with you in there, Jenna?" Brenna asked. "It's not like you to be so passive."

"I know!" she replied, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "It's just… those eyes."

Brenna sighed, "I agree. It was all I could do to keep from staring."

"At least you could look him in the eye. They were just… the most amazing shade of blue," Jenna said dreamily.

"Blue? What are you smoking, girl? His eyes couldn't be greener," Brenna countered adamantly.

At Jenna's quizzical expression, Abby stepped in with curious look on her face. "This is easily explained as, clearly, you are talking about Gibbs and you are talking about McGee." She looked to each girl in turn.

The sisters smiled at one another. Brenna chuckled. She should have known Jenna wasn't thinking about the same man she had been drawn to; they had always exhibited slightly different tastes in men.

"Well, it really doesn't matter," Jenna responded. "Everyone I saw looked as if they could be in a magazine."

"True," Abby admitted. "NCIS is a pretty happenin' place to work."

Picking up on the hesitancy in Abby's voice, Brenna asked, "Is there something wrong?" Her eyes widened with revelation, "Which one are you sleeping with?"

"None, at the moment," Abby said cryptically. "But this team is my family," her voice took on a slightly threatening overtone.

"Relax," Brenna assured her. "We are here begging for your assistance. The last thing we're going to do is seduce your friends, get married and start making babies."

Jenna laughed Brenna's remark off, but Abby's eyes widened in horror. It was obvious to Jenna that her sister had been joking, but this didn't seem to be an area about which Abby was ready to joke. Hoping to smooth things over, she said, "Exactly. We're here for help not a hook-up." Turning to the equipment, she looked around with wide eyes. "WOW, again. You run all this stuff?"

Sidetracked by the topic of her lab, Abby showed them around and then settled in front of her computer to work up the model Gibbs asked for. Her exuberance was a bit dimmed, however, by the previous topic.


	5. The Hunter and the Hunted

**Chapter 5 – The Hunter and the Hunted**

"Mr. Lancaster," the pilot's voice came over the intercom, "we'll be landing in DC in twenty minutes."

Sterling looked over his laptop at the red-haired lady sitting across from him. Steph had proven to be an invaluable asset over the years, and he felt he had made the perfect choice in bringing her along. "You know what to do?"

Steph smiled, showing she enjoyed this part of her work. "Yes, sir. When we land, I'll rent a car with the documents you had prepared. No one will know I was in DC; and you are here on a business trip."

"Make sure nothing goes wrong. I want to know what, if anything, this Abby Sciuto knows about Mike's death."

As the plane landed, Steph took down her bag and checked to make sure she had everything. She'd be stopping by the lockers to pick up the package that Sterling had arranged to be delivered earlier that day. With evening only hours away, it wouldn't be hard to conceal herself near Abby Sciuto's place and watch for her to come home. Sterling took a rented limousine to his hotel, and Steph rented an inconspicuous sedan. There would be no record of her being in DC; she wouldn't be the best of Sterling Lancaster's staff if there was.

She drove around for a while, acclimating herself, once again, to the city. It had been years since her last trip to the capitol, and she needed to plan for all possible escape routes from Ms. Sciuto's place. Once that was done, she settled in to watch.

---

"What do you got for us, Abby?" Gibbs asked, walking in as she was about to call him.

She narrowed her eyes and murmured something that sounded like 'psychic link', before turning to her computer. "It's not good, Gibbs. From the formula Brenna remembers, we've worked on several models for each possibility. None of them are pretty." Hitting a key on her keyboard, the first scenario was shown on the screen. "In a small town, say somewhere like Edenvale, one person takes the pill and dies within ten to twelve hours. If they aren't found and embalmed right away, the decomposing body will spread the biochemical throughout the nearest buildings or houses within a few days. If those bodies aren't taken care of, the whole town can be wiped out in a matter of two to three weeks. For a city of hundreds of thousands, they'd have to give the pill to hundreds of people throughout the city at the same time for the results to be the same in a similar time frame."

Jenna watched Gibbs' expression closely. His face didn't register any reaction, but his eyes turned icy at the news.

"Is there an antidote for this?" he asked.

"I wasn't in the lab long enough to get that information," Brenna answered. "But with time and equipment, I could formulate one. I will definitely need a secure place to work. The chemicals required are very dangerous," she warned.

He pulled out his cell phone while telling her, "Whatever it takes." He looked at his agents and they started asking Brenna what she needed. "Jen, we have a situation. I'm coming up to brief you."

Gibbs disconnected as he heard Brenna say, "I can work on possible formulas from the motel tonight, and we can process them through the computer tomorrow."

"You can't stay at a motel!" Abby protested. "You have to stay with me. Besides, we're having a team dinner at my place tonight."

Gibbs smirked, and Tony, Tim and Ziva all exchanged looks that said they had forgotten about the dinner.

"That's right," Tony said. "And you don't want to miss the chance to get to know us better," he added flirtatiously.

Both girls smiled at him, causing Tony to smile even brighter and Ziva to raise an eyebrow at Tony.

"Everyone is bringing a dish and it'll be great fun. So, you have to stay tonight at least," Abby told them.

Brenna and Jenna had noticed the looks exchanged by the other team members, and smiled.

"That sounds great, Abby. Thanks for inviting us." Jenna said politely.

"Should we stop and pick up anything?" Brenna offered.

Abby shook her head. "Nah, between these guys and what I've got, I think we've got it covered."

"Um, see you guys later," McGee said, tripping over his feet at the smiles he received in response.

Brenna quirked an eyebrow as he exited. He was absolutely adorable.

On his heels, Tony and Ziva each mumbled excuses and quickly left.

The sisters grinned and said in unison, "Okay, then."

"I'll be in the Director's office, Abs. Call me if you come up with anything," Gibbs said as he kissed her cheek and walked out.

Jenna bit her lip over that small peck, and then had to laugh at Abby's protest, "How are we supposed to come up with something before dinner?!"

---

Franklin was watching Janice Simpson with his binoculars. She was readying a bath with plenty of bubbles. Candles were lit throughout the bathroom, and she had a stand beside the tub with a book on top. Once he was certain she was settled in and entranced by her book, he decided to have some fun. It had been a long time since he had searched a house while the owners were home and awake. Feeling the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, he made his way to the backyard. He had decided earlier that the backyard would provide the best cover. There was a tall privacy fence between her house and her only neighbor's house, plus there were many high shrubs lining the other sides of the property. Slipping up to the door, he picked the lock in good time and eased himself through the opening.

Looking through the kitchen quickly and quietly, he then made his way to the dining room. There was a china cabinet along one wall with two small drawers. Pulling them out, he searched through the papers there. Nothing again. Methodically, he searched room to room downstairs with no results. He stopped as he heard water draining and realized she had finished her bath. Slipping down the hall, he hid in the broom closet as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

She moved past him down to the kitchen, and he listened carefully as the door to the refrigerator was opened and closed and then opened and closed again. The microwave sounded next as the door closed and the power started. Apparently her dinner hadn't filled her up. He smelled the chocolate as if drifted down the hall. Impatient, he was about to leave the closet when he heard footsteps again. She was coming back down the hall, and he could hear the appreciative sounds she made as she ate whatever concoction she had warmed up.

Easing the door open, he watched as she topped the stairs and disappeared. Stepping out into the hallway, he heard her television come on. Making his way up the stairs, he searched room to room, bypassing her bedroom at the end of the hall. The door was closed and the light was off. He settled in to wait until she fell asleep.


	6. Getting to Know You

**Chapter Six – Getting to Know You**

Gibbs topped the stairs and turned toward Jen's office. Approaching Cynthia's desk, he contained the smile he felt coming on when he saw the door was standing open. He closed it behind him and moved to stand in front of Jen's desk.

"See? If you call first, I can have the door open and you won't have to barge in, Jethro." Jen Shepard said.

"But I like barging in, Director. It catches you by surprise," Gibbs admitted.

Jen smiled, "You said we have a situation. What kind of situation?"

"The kind that attracts terrorist interest and money. Abby brought in some old friends of hers; they both worked for DAX Pharmaceuticals."

"Worked?" Jen asked, latching onto the past tense of the word.

"The older sister stumbled onto a formula for an oral biochemical drug. She had a feeling someone was going to come after her and they both ran."

"What damage could this drug do?"

"I had Abby make a model simulation of the effects of the drug. According to those, if enough people were to take the pill and they weren't embalmed quickly enough, a city the size of Washington DC could be wiped out in weeks from the fall-out."

Jen's face paled. "Is the formula viable?"

"According to the older sister it is."

Jen nodded. "Do we have an antidote?"

"Not yet."

Standing, Jen looked Gibbs in the eye. "You know I have to alert the DEA and Homeland Security about this?"

Gibbs nodded. "Just make sure we protect these two while they run their investigation. They may be our only link to stopping this, if the drug has already been made."

"Consider it done."

Gibbs nodded sharply once more, and then left.

---

Abby led the girls out of the building and Jenna asked, "Abby, could we get your address? We need to stop at the store and get a few things before settling in for the evening."

Abby unlocked her door, and looked at the sisters with a hint of suspicion. Remembering that she HAD invited them to stay and deciding they were harmless, she gave them the address and waited until they drove off in their truck before heading home herself. She was excited about the dinner tonight. It was the first time the team had been to dinner at her place in a while, and she wanted to surprise them with the food she'd prepared.

As she parked in front of her building, she wasn't surprised to see McGee sitting in his car. Nor was she surprised to find him getting out with a bottle of wine and a very scrumptious looking coffee cake. Grinning, she threw an arm around him.

"Come on in, McGee. You can help me put the finishing touches on the decorations."

From down the street, Steph watched Abby Sciuto enter her apartment building with a man. From the looks of things, they knew each other well and were comfortable with one another. She pulled out the file that she'd compiled on Abby Sciuto before leaving Louisiana. Finding the proper page, she murmured, "Special Agent McGee."

---

Brenna and Jenna arrived at Abby's apartment to find McGee and Gibbs already there, helping Abby with the food. Brenna carried a bottle of wine and a cheesecake, while Jenna brought in a bag of fresh ground coffee. Abby saw them with the items in hand and propped her hands on her hips. "I told you that you didn't have to bring anything."

Jenna smiled, "Our momma taught us never to go to a dinner party empty-handed."

"And since everyone was bringing a dish, we wanted to contribute," Brenna finished the explanation.

McGee took the bottle of wine from Brenna and was jolted when his fingers brushed hers. Her smile lit up her face as she looked at him. "Thank you." She saw another cake sitting on the side table and she smiled.

"Abby, do you have a coffee pot?" Jenna asked, holding up the bag in her hands.

"With Gibbs coming over? I would have had to get one if I didn't," Abby smiled at Gibbs and he grinned, shaking his head.

Jenna sighed, "Thank goodness. I got the coffee and took for granted you'd have the rest of the necessities."

Gibbs saw the label on the bag and was surprised. Holding out his hand, Jenna handed the bag over. She watched as he broke the seal and smelled the grounds.

"This is good coffee," he commented.

Jenna grinned and admitted, "I know. I just wish I could drink it straight. I love the smell of it but I have to add a bit of creamer and sugar before I drink it."

"That's not coffee," Gibbs said.

Laughing, Jenna nodded. "That is exactly what Damien tells me."

"Oh, and I don't tell you the same thing every day?" Brenna asked, teasing her sister.

"Okay, Brenna and Damien," Jenna amended. She turned back to her sister, "Satisfied?"

The bell rang, and Abby practically bounced to the door. "Tony! Ziva! You made it!"

Tony walked in, grinning. He held out his offering to Abby. "What is that smell, Abs? It's wonderful!"

"Chicken Jambalaya. Don't worry, Ziva, it's kosher. I intentionally used extra chicken and left out the shrimp and sausage," Abby reported, happily.

Ziva held up her dish and replied, "So is this." She handed Abby a bowl of mixed green salad. "You said to bring side dishes, so…"

"It's perfect," Abby said, taking it off her hands and placing it on the counter.

---

Steph was getting bored. She'd been tinkering with the equipment left for her at the airport. She'd have to tell Sterling that his connection hadn't come through this time, because all she was getting from the listening device was static. Making one final adjustment, the static was gone, replaced by several voices in the corner apartment. Smiling, she picked up her binoculars and resumed watching the end of the dinner party.

---

Tony leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Man, that was great. Abby, you can cook for me any day."

"Tony, don't let the sexist pig in you out now when we've been having such a good time," Ziva said, causing laughter to sound from around the table.

Tony found himself watching first one girl, and then the other. Those two had gotten the best end of the genes in their family, he could only assume. He noticed that McGee was also having trouble not staring at the girls, as they chatted and laughed, fitting right in with the rest of the team.

Gibbs watched the interplay between the girls and rest of the team with interest. Abby was supposed to know them, but seemed the most bothered by their presence. He smiled to himself when the realized the reason for Abby's running hot and cold: she wasn't the center of attention at her own dinner party. He noticed how both McGee and Tony could hardly take their eyes of her guests. He made a point to bring Abby an extra Caf-Pow! the next day. Maybe it was time for them to go, and let the girls resolve their own issues.

Gibbs looked at his watch and stood. "Thank you for dinner, Abby. It was wonderful." He looked at each of his agents pointedly and they stood. "I expect everyone to be on time in the morning."

Amid mumblings of "Of course" and "Yes, Boss", everyone began making preparations to leave.

McGee helped gather up the trash and noticed the bag was full. "Abby, I'm going to take the trash out for you. I'll be back to get my jacket."

"Oh, no you don't, McGee!" Abby interjected. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my own trash. I'll take it out." Abby laughed, "You can stack the dishes while I do this."

McGee smiled and nodded. "All right, Abs."

Gibbs watched as Abby headed toward the back door. Although he had no reason to suspect so, his gut was telling him something wasn't right. He would give her exactly three minutes – no more – and then he was going after her.

---

Steph's interest was piqued. She couldn't see the trash area, but she could see that Abby was getting the bag out of the can. Deciding quickly, she made her move. Running across the street and down the sidewalk, she moved with the shadows. She came around the corner as she heard the door opening to the apartment building.

Looking behind the woman to ensure she was alone, Steph darted out and, with a kick, swept the other woman's legs out from under her. She went down with an "oomph" and Steph was right there on top of her.

"You're coming with me. My employer wants to know if you ever met Mike Lancaster."

"Abby?" a male voice came from the doorway and Steph looked up into the blue eyes of the team leader. Jumping up and running, she didn't stop until she was far enough away and was sure they weren't following. Taking the long way around, she got into her car and listened long enough to hear everyone was back in the apartment, concerned for Abby's safety.


	7. Protection Detail

**Chapter Seven – Protection Detail**

The team, along with Jenna and Brenna, gathered around Abby. Everyone was inquiring as to her welfare, asking if her attacker had said anything and basically hovering in every possible way.

"It was a woman," Abby told them.

"Thought so," Gibbs confirmed. "What did she say?"

"Nothing, Gibbs!" Abby gave Jenna a sideways look as she tried to convince Gibbs she was telling the truth. Eyes open wide, she continued, "I swear, Gibbs! She didn't say anything."

"Abs!" Gibbs barked, knowing she was withholding something from him.

"Seriously, Gibbs."

Gibbs gave her a look that told her he knew she was lying, but was going to let it go – for a while. "Abby, you're going home with Tony. You go with McGee," he said, nodding toward Brenna, "and you're with me," he finished, grabbing Jenna gently by the upper arm.

Gibbs sensed that something besides the deal with DAX was going on, and it had to do with Jenna and Abby.

"Umm… I can understand the need for protection, but shouldn't we stay together? Safety in numbers and all that?" Brenna asked.

"Abby was just attacked while we were all here together. If I hadn't suspected something was up, she would be gone right now," his voice was dangerously low. "If whoever attacked Abby is still out there, we are sitting ducks. We need to split up, and we need a buddy system. Tony, you go nowhere without Abby. I mean nowhere. McGee; same goes. You will not leave her side under any circumstances."

"Gibbs, wouldn't it be better if I went with McGee?" Abby asked, not wanting to send him home with Brenna. "I mean, we know that DAX is after Brenna; I was just a means to an end. Wouldn't you want your senior agent to guard her," she appealed.

"Abby, you are very clearly a target. I won't send you with McGee. You manipulate him too easily. The next thing I know, he'll have to go out to get a toothbrush and leave you alone."

"Boss, I promise…"

"Gibbs, I promise…" McGee and Abby spoke in unison.

"I said Abby goes with Tony," Gibbs barked. "McGee, I trust you won't make a mistake this time. Besides, whoever I assign to Brenna will need to be with her while she's working in the lab; I'd rather that be you than Tony."

"Yes, Boss," he answered, and then swallowed at the smile on Brenna's face.

Throughout the conversation, Gibbs never released Jenna's arm from his grasp. She stood motionless, both wanting him to release her and wanting him never to let go. She could tell he was suspicious of her. She was afraid he would interrogate her, and she wasn't sure she could hold up under his intense stare. But at the same time, the idea of having this man focused solely on protecting her gave her chills – in a good way.

"Ziva," Gibbs continued giving orders. "I want you to be the link between us. It's your responsibility to check in with each group every six hours. If something were to happen and neither person can get to the phone, we'll know more quickly if you're on top of things."

"Sounds reasonable," she agreed.

"No one is late tomorrow," Gibbs barked his final command as he led Jenna toward the door.

"I need to get my things," she reminded him.

He released his hold on her arm. "Of course."

---

Franklin was pacing his office. "Hours spent in a useless search." His cell phone rang and he flipped it open, barking, "WHAT?"

"Is this a bad time?" the voice asked.

Calming down a bit, Franklin responded, "It depends on the reason for this call."

The voice lowered and said, "We got a tip earlier today that DAX Pharmaceuticals was developing a biochemical weapon."

Narrowing his eyes, Franklin asked, "Where did this tip come from?"

"NCIS; DC office."

Franklin sat down. "NCIS? How did they? … Davis. Thanks for the call." He closed his phone and sat thinking. Now what?

---

Abby walked into Tony's apartment and looked around. "It's different from the last time I was here."

"New furniture," was Tony's reply.

Abby wandered around to see what else had changed. Seeing his movie collection, she grinned. Some things about Tony never changed.

"Why new furniture?" she asked, checking out the newest additions to his movies.

Tony didn't answer and Abby looked at him in time to see him lost in a memory. "Jeanne?"

Setting Abby's bag down, he admitted, "There were enough memories without keeping the same furniture."

Abby walked over and hugged him. "I'm sorry you were hurt, Tony."

Hugging her back and smiling, Tony said, "Thanks, Abs." He pulled back to look her in the face. "You want to tell me what happened out there tonight?"

Abby sighed, "I already told everyone what happened. What, you don't believe me now?"

"I want to hear what happened without all the background noise drowning you out."

Abby sat down on the new couch. "I walked outside to throw the trash out, and this woman jumped out and knocked me off my feet. She bent down and grabbed me. That's when Gibbs came out and she ran. I don't know who she is."

"You can do a sketch of her face?"

"Of course! And I will as soon as we get into the office in the morning. For now, let's get some sleep."

Abby started arranging pillows on the couch and Tony make a negative noise. "Gibbs said I'm not to go anywhere without you."

"What, so that means we have to share the bed?"

Tony grinned. "It's a big bed, Abby," he said in a low voice.

Pushing him away, she grinned, "Not tonight, Tony." Laughing, she added, "You're incorrigible."

"Yep, that's me."

They settled on Abby taking the bed and Tony using the sofa bed. "I knew this would come in handy when I picked it out," he joked as they made it up together. When he was satisfied that she was asleep, he settled down to get a few hours of rest himself. He would never figure out how Abby could go on so little sleep.

---

Jenna watched as Gibbs opened his front door without a key. "You don't lock your door?" she asked.

He ushered her in and turned around. Locking the door lock, he slid the dead bolt home. "I do when I'm on protective detail."

Nodding, Jenna waited for him to go further into the house. When he finally did, she closed her eyes briefly before steeling herself. Tonight was not going to be any fun.

He led her upstairs and showed her the guest room. He set her bag inside the door and explained where the bathroom was and the linen closet for towels and washcloths. Taking her back downstairs, he went to the kitchen and started coffee. That's when Jenna knew he intended to question her about tonight and DAX and her relationship with Abby.

"Do I have time for a quick shower before you begin your grand inquisition?" she asked him.

Gibbs looked up at her and nodded. She disappeared up the stairs and he smiled. So she did have spunk. Good. She'd need it.

Twenty minutes later she walked back down the stairs, and he was surprised by several things: one, she was back in twenty minutes; two, she was wearing long pants and a t-shirt instead of something skimpy other women her age might wear; and three, she made his shampoo smell a lot better than he did. He poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her.

"I don't have cream, but there is sugar in the cabinet behind you."

Jenna added a little sugar and stirred. Sipping the hot liquid, she smiled. "Maybe I could wean myself from the cream and sugar a little at a time."

Tamping down an errant smile, Gibbs sat down at the table. Jenna followed his lead, sitting across from him and brushing her still damp hair out of her eyes. "What do you want to know?"

Gibbs took a drink of his coffee. "Everything."

Jenna grinned. "So you don't like to sleep at night, is that it? You'd rather talk straight through?"

"You're attempts to avoid this won't get me off track."

She sighed. "I kinda figured that. So, everything... Any particular topic you'd like to start with?"

"Abby."

"Right, okay. I met Abby through her brother, Ben. We dated in high school. Abby and I have kept in touch more than Ben and I. When we ran from Texas and started talking about who to contact, I thought of Abby and Brenna thought of Sean, an old college friend. We agreed to start with Abby and if she couldn't help we'd go to Sean."

"Where does Sean work?"

"He's with the FBI. I know, I know! Why go to NCIS before the FBI? I just had this feeling that we'd be safe with NCIS," Jenna told him, looking down at her hands.

Knowing it was a lie, he waited. When she didn't continue, he asked, "What did you do at DAX?"

"I was the executive assistant to Damien Xavier. I started right out of high school in the secretarial pool. As I went through school, a position came open for an administrative assistant to one of the lower level managers. From there I worked my way up and have worked for Damien for the last two years. He was out of the office the day Brenna and I ran. I haven't called him yet."

"Do you think he has anything to do with this?"

"Damien? No way. He wouldn't harm a soul. It's been his life's work to create a line of drugs with as little side-effects as possible. I've never seen any suspicious activity from Damien's side of things. He's too open for that. There is no way on earth he'd contribute to a drug that would take a life."

"You seem pretty sure of that." Gibbs was watching her closely.

"I am sure. I have worked by his side day after day; spent countless hours with him and his family. I know him. He's not behind this."

"What happened tonight?"

Jenna looked puzzled. "I have no idea. I was in the apartment."

"Do you think someone from DAX found you this quickly?" Gibbs asked.

"I couldn't say, Agent Gibbs. A lot of things are possible, but Brenna and I have been very careful to not leave any trail between Texas and here. I don't know who that woman was or who she was with." Her coffee had cooled and Jenna took a big gulp then made a face. "Oh man, cold coffee. Why do people drink that stuff?"

Smiling now, Gibbs told her, "I haven't been able to work that one out myself. Go on to sleep, Jenna. We'll talk more tomorrow." He took her coffee cup and rinsed it.

"Goodnight, Agent Gibbs," Jenna said softly, and then headed upstairs to the room he'd shown her earlier.

Gibbs turned and headed downstairs.

---

"I still think you could protect me better if you let me drive," Brenna tried for about the third time, from the passenger seat of McGee's car.

McGee gave her a look she couldn't quite interpret in the darkness. She smiled, knowing he wouldn't relent, but enjoying teasing him.

"You're very tall, you know," she stated, as if he were unaware of his own height. "This is a car much better designed for a small woman; short, even."

"Nice try," he said with a grin. "But we're here now."

McGee grabbed Brenna's suitcase, while she tossed her overnight bag over one shoulder and grabbed her purse in her other hand.

"Right this way." He led her upstairs to his apartment and unlocked the door.

"Nice place," she said, hiding her surprise.

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your tone?"

"Just a bit," she admitted with a huge smile. "I guess everything really is bigger in Texas."

He chuckled. "Yeah, it's small, I guess. But it's somewhat affordable. Things cost a lot more here."

"True," she conceded. "Only one bed?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry," he blushed. "One of us can sleep in the chair, or…"

"Are you kidding me? I'm small, but I'm not THAT small. And you couldn't possibly be comfortable in a chair all night." She paused a moment, looking around. "It's probably for the best; you're not supposed to leave my side anyway, right?"

"Well, I don't think that's really what Gibbs had in mind."

"Well, if you're afraid I'm gonna invade your personal space or attack you in the middle of the night…" her voice trailed off as she smiled. "Maybe you should be a little worried," she added under her breath.

"Of course I'm not afraid… What did you say?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just gonna have a shower, and then we'll go to bed. To sleep, McGee," she added as his blush deepened even further.

---

Gibbs was in his basement, working with his hands. The motion of the sandpaper over wood helped calm him and it cleared his mind to think through things. Abby and Jenna were definitely keeping something from him. What bothered him most was the feeling that it had nothing to do with DAX Pharmaceuticals. Hearing the floorboards overhead creak, he grabbed his handgun and started up the steps quietly. Clearing the hallway, he silently walked toward the front of the house when a noise in the kitchen made him turn in that direction. He turned in the door and ran into a body. Glass shattered and a very female "Dang it" filled his ears.

Still holding his gun, he reached out and flipped the lights on. "Jenna!"

Jenna was standing barefoot in the middle of broken glass. The bottoms of her pants were wet from the water that was all over the floor. She stepped back and winced. "I was thirsty," she explained.

Gibbs noticed the wince and tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans. "You stepped on the glass, didn't you?" He lifted her off her feet and set her on the counter near the sink. Taking her foot in his hands, he saw the piece of glass in the small cut on her heel. Gently pulling it out, the blood welled and he grabbed a paper towel to put pressure on the cut.

"I'm sorry about the glass."

"Why didn't you tell me you were thirsty?"

"I didn't want to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep."

"How was I to know that?" Jenna asked. "Where's your broom and dustpan?" She moved to hop of the counter, and Gibbs stopped her with his hands at her waist.

"I'll clean it up. You'll just cut your feet again."

Gibbs turned away and Jenna slumped on the counter top. He set about cleaning the mess she had made very efficiently. She hopped down and apologized again. "I'm sorry I made such a mess."

"Apologizing is a sign of …" he stopped before he completed his usual sentence.

Her brown eyes looked up into his and she asked, "Sign of what?"

"Weakness," he finished.

Jenna grinned at him. "Well, now, depends on what you're apologizing for. Sometimes it is a sign of great strength." Winking at him, she kept her heel up as she limped past him. He surprised her by lifting her and carrying her up the stairs.

"Wait here, I'll get you a Band-Aid."

"I have a first-aid kit in my bag," Jenna told him. He opened it, pulling out the kit.

He waited just long enough for her to put the Band-Aid on her foot before leaving her to go back to sleep. Getting into bed himself, he realized she never did get her drink of water.


	8. Ready for Action

**Chapter Eight – Ready for Action**

The next morning, Gibbs was pleased to see everyone present and accounted for thirty minutes before their shifts were scheduled to begin.

"How are we doing for getting this antidote put together?" he asked Brenna.

"We checked on the progress first thing this morning, and we have most of what we need here now. A few items are being brought over this morning by courier. I should be in the lab and actively working by lunchtime," she reported.

"Not good enough. Go to the lab now and start running through your formulas or whatever. If you go ahead and start, you'll get it made that much quicker when the rest of the stuff gets here."

"Yes, sir," she said with a grin, allowing McGee to lead her to elevator.

Gibbs replied loudly, "Don't 'sir' me, I work for a living."

McGee mumbled to Brenna, "Obedience is good, but don't call him sir."

"Thanks for the tip," she answered as the elevator doors closed. McGee was taking her to the makeshift lab that had been set up in a section of the building not normally used by NCIS.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jenna offered.

Gibbs gave her a long look. "Other than telling me what else is going on?"

She ducked her head again, avoiding his gaze. He smirked, knowing now that her submission stance was most likely an act: he had seen a bit of the real Jenna the night before.

"DiNozzo, what are you doing?" Gibbs asked him, as if only just noticing his presence.

"I was checking into some of the information you had asked for on DAX…"

"Ziva can do that. Jenna can help. YOU, however, are supposed to be with Abby. I don't care if we are in NCIS and she is in a secure location, you DO NOT leave your buddy under any circumstances. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Boss," Tony said, rushing to the elevator.

Ziva led Jenna to the chair Tony had just vacated, and showed her how to continue with the research he had begun. Naturally, she wouldn't have clearance to do all of the work; Ziva would have to keep a lot of it. But she had to admit that having Jenna help with some of the basics would definitely take some of the load off of her.

---

"Tony!" Abby said excitedly when he entered the lab, as if she hadn't spent the entire night and morning with him.

"Hey, Abby."

"What's wrong?" she asked him, picking up on his odd tone of voice.

"Gibbs says our buddy system doesn't go on hold inside the building; you're still stuck with me, I'm afraid."

Abby smiled, "Did Gibbs yell at you?"

"Sort of," he pouted.

"Awwww…" she said, crossing the room to pull him into a hug. After a few moments, she pulled away and eyed him conspiratorially. "So…" she began.

"What's on your mind, Abs?" Tony asked her, sensing she was leading into something big.

"Did McGee or Gibbs say anything about how their protection details went?" she asked curiously.

"You mean, were they able to extract more useful information? I don't know. It's not like I've seen them without their buddies."

Abby rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to resent this whole buddy thing."

"Gee, thanks, Abs," Tony said, feigning offense.

She smacked him on the upper arm. "Don't be that way; you know that's not what I mean."

"What exactly is bothering you?"

"It's just… I was wondering if… I don't know."

"Well, thanks for clarifying," Tony said, rolling his eyes. Knowing Abby well, and remembering her behavior at dinner the night before, he continued, "Seriously, I think McGee is quite infatuated with both girls, not that I blame him. Those girls are hot, hot, hot, and Brenna has certainly been sending a lot of those stunning smiles his way." He paused a moment, considering. "Now that you mention it, he and Brenna did seem very comfortable with each other this morning, which I wouldn't expect from the Probie after spending the night with a woman he'd never met before."

"I didn't mention it. But what do you think that means?" Abby asked. "Do you think he slept with her?"

"You'd have to ask him," Tony said, backing away. "But I seriously doubt it. This is McGeek we're talking about here. I can't see the guy closing the deal with someone like her at all, let alone in one night."

"Some girls like geek, Tony," Abby protested in an almost angry tone. She turned her back to Tony and began furiously typing.

"So, is there anything we can do to help get this antidote formulated sooner?" Tony asked, changing the subject to one less likely to make Abby hate him.

Tony had never understood why both Gibbs and McGee seemed to be able to touch that part of Abby that lay beyond friendship, and just beyond his reach. When he had first come to NCIS, he had flirted outrageously with her, only to be shut down; she simply wasn't into the player type. But shocked didn't come anywhere close to describe what he felt when he found out she had opened herself up to McGee. And Gibbs… well, he always seemed to have this connection to her. He supposed he should be happy that the girls' sudden appearance was distracting McGee, but he hated to see Abby hurting.

---

"My heavens, you could hang meat in here," Brenna complained, trying to think warm thoughts. "Is there some sort of law that says all labs have to be frigid?"

McGee chuckled and crossed the room. "There's a thermostat right here," he informed her.

"Oh," Brenna said, somewhat embarrassed about her outburst.

"It's set on 70 degrees," McGee told her.

"Well, there's the problem, McGee," she crossed the room to meet him and set the thermostat on 74. She smiled, "That should do it."

McGee smiled remembering having to adjust the temperature three times during the night and morning. He had bumped the thermostat up while Brenna worked on her computer, and then brought it back down when it was time for bed. He awoke the next morning to find Brenna practically wedged underneath him, as if she had been subconsciously using him as a blanket. As he reached out to pull her blanket more tightly around her, he noticed that her exposed skin as cold as ice. He had actually turned on the heat for a while to take the chill off the apartment so she could shower. In her defense, she had never asked him to adjust the temperature, but the chattering teeth and obvious chill bumps on her arms were a definite clue to her discomfort.

Brenna smiled at McGee. "Thanks for taking such good care of me."

He blushed. "I didn't do anything."

"You did plenty," she told him, "so just accept the compliment, okay?"

"You're welcome," he accepted graciously.

"Better," she winked at him. "Well, let's see what we have here." She turned to the tables that had been set up in the center of the room, and began organizing components. McGee set up the laptops at one end of the workspace, and helped her review the information she had put together the night before. As soon as the final ingredients were delivered, they would be well on their way to a viable antidote. In theory, at least. They would almost have to actually build the original biochemical pill in order to test the effectiveness of the antidote. Knowing the harmful effects of the drug, she was hoping to find another alternative to recreating the problem.

---

Steph was in her motel room. Since the failed attempt last night to grab Abby Sciuto, she'd been on her laptop, researching blue prints and planning her next move. It was amazing how much you could access on the internet if you knew where to go and what to look for. She was studying the NCIS building, making notes and generally learning the layout of the building. After last night and the information she had heard, she knew Abby wouldn't be alone from now on. She also knew she had the skills to take out the agent that had been assigned to protect her.

There was a knock on her door, and she peered out the window. Good, her pizza was there. Opening the door, she took the box and handed the delivery boy the cash, then shut the door in his face. She grinned. There were some days where she really got a kick out of being rude. Grabbing a soda, she sat back down at her laptop. As she ate, she memorized the route through the building she would have to take. Now all she had to do was fake her clearance.

---

Jenna stretched at Tony's desk and sighed. They were searched for evidence to incriminate Damien. While she knew they had to do it, she hated that it was being done. Shaking her head, she looked around. She had noticed a control for the plasma screen earlier. Grabbing it off McGee's desk, she cleared her throat.

"I think you'll want to see this," she told Gibbs and Ziva as she clicked the button. Appearing on the screen was detailed financial information on DAX Pharmaceuticals along with recent documents supporting all the money going in and out of the accounts.

"How did you get this information," Ziva asked, looking from the plasma to her computer where she'd been trying to access the same records for the past forty minutes.

Jenna stared a Ziva for a moment and then reminded her, "I am… I was Damien's assistant. I'm like his backup when he's too busy looking into things. I have all his passwords."

"Where are they?" Ziva looked at Tony's desk, not finding any papers.

Jenna laughed, "The one thing I'm good at remembering almost as well as Brenna is passwords. Damien has a very secure system and uses the same passwords but in a different rotation every month. I just had to figure out how he changed them."

Gibbs had been watching Jenna from his desk and was surprised that she'd pull that information for them. Jenna noticed his stare and held his gaze as she asked him, "What?"

"Why did you pull that information for us?" he asked.

Staring him straight in the eye, she answered, "Accessing this information is a step in getting you to see that Damien isn't involved in this. Besides, it saved time for me to pull it instead of you all having to hack into it."

She blinked, and Gibbs wondered what other reason she wasn't saying out loud.

Ziva looked from Jenna to Gibbs and wondered just what had happened during the previous night to change Jenna from being shy around Gibbs to going head-to-head with him on something.


	9. Tangled Web

**Chapter Nine – Tangled Web**

Franklin stepped out of the airport and looked around. He had arranged a car; not a limousine, but chauffeured nonetheless. He wasn't going to do anything just yet except look around. He told the driver to give him a tour of the city. Putting on the excited tourist face, he sat back and watched as the capital flew by. The driver was coming near the Navy Yard when Franklin asked, as if he didn't know, "What's that up ahead?"

The driver focused on the location in front of them. "That's the Navy Yard."

"The Navy Yard? What's there?"

"The Navy Yard," the driver answered, and then shrugged. "Lots of stuff… Department of Naval History, Navy JAG Corps and NCIS – they're like Navy Cops. They're the most interesting thing on the Yard to me."

As the driver passed by the gates, Franklin watched as a navy blue sedan pulled up to the gate and an arm stretched out to the guards showing credentials. It was as he thought. This would have to be a water approach.

---

Steph showed her ID to the guard at the gate, and pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head. Receiving her dazzling smile, he pressed the button to raise the security arm. She winked and drove onto the Navy Yard. Parking in plain sight, she stepped out of the car, adjusting her jacket over her side arm. Walking confidently into the federal agency, she showed her ID to the guard inside and he nodded her through without asking questions.

Once in the elevator, she pressed the button for the floor above the lab. It would be cutting it close with the agents on that floor, but it was necessary to go up first and then down to access the lab. When the doors opened, she kept her head down, while watching for agents and obstacles. She managed to get into the stairwell without any problems. Walking quietly down the stairs, she peered out the window of the exit door. The hall was empty and not a sound was heard. She eased out of the stairwell and once again kept her head down, shielding her face from video surveillance. Entering the lab, she knocked out the agent talking to Abby.

Abby turned when she heard a 'thump', and stared into the eyes of the woman from the other night. This time, she was holding a gun on Abby.

"What do you want?" Abby asked, shuffling closer to her desk.

"Answers," Steph told her.

---

"Agent Gibbs!" Jenna exclaimed.

Gibbs and Ziva reflexively looked at Jenna and then at the plasma screen that was showing the feed from Abby's lab. There was a redhead holding a gun on Abby. Before Jenna could get out of her chair, they were on the move, off to rescue Abby.

---

"Answers about what?" Abby asked, taking another small step.

Steph shook her head. "Don't do it. You couldn't hit me with anything on your desk before I get a shot off, and I'd rather get my information from someone without putting a bullet in them."

Abby stopped moving. "I don't have any information for you."

Steph studied Abby and noticed that while calm on the outside, her eyes were screaming that she was scared and that she did know something.

---

Gibbs and Ziva molded themselves to the walls and approached Abby's lab with their guns drawn. From their position, they could see Tony lying on the floor. Standing just beyond the point that would open the doors, Gibbs felt a movement beside him.

"What are you doing?" He asked Jenna.

"Buddy system, remember?" she replied.

"You shouldn't be here. You could get hurt and you can't help Abby." Ziva murmured.

Turning her stubborn gaze from one to the other, she told them, "I might, but he won't let that happen. And you don't know if I can help or not."

"Stay back and stay down," Gibbs ordered.

Jenna nodded, jaw set and she crouched low to stay out of the line of sight.

---

"You're lying," Steph said and clicked the safety off her gun. "You do know something. All I want is an honest answer. Did you know Mike Lancaster?"

"Don't move."

---

Franklin had become one with the tourist crowd and made his way to onto the USS Barry. He was watching for tourist boats along the Anacostia as well as taking in the layout of Navy Yard. Barely hearing the tour guide's voice, he walked when the crowd did and stood still when they did. He saw tourist boats on the river but they wouldn't get him close enough to get to her that way. The water approach would not work.

He just knew she had to be in there. They wouldn't let her go without making her formulate an antidote. And from the scuttlebutt about NCIS, he knew they didn't like to turn their evidence over to other government agencies. The director, he had learned, could stick to her guns when it came down to it.

Not caring about the history of the Barry, he made his mind up and left the tour. When asked where he was going, he acted sick and security lead him off the boat. He'd have to rent a car and just watch. When the time was right, he would strike and strike hard.

---

Steph heard the voice at the same time she felt the muzzle of a handgun brush her ear. Making a noise of disgust, she released her weapon to Officer David, as Agent Gibbs kept her covered; she couldn't believe she'd been so overconfident that both team members had slipped into the lab. Hands cuffed behind her back, she was turned to face Special Agent Gibbs. Grinning in his face, she took pleasure at seeing the anger flare in his eyes.

"Take her to interrogation, Ziva. Stay with her until I get there," Gibbs ordered.

As they exited the lab, Abby rushed to Gibbs and hugged him tightly. Jenna walked in, witnessing the hug and felt a strange sensation. Not bothering to address that feeling at this time, Jenna asked, "Abby, are you all right?"

Abby looked over Gibb's shoulder to the younger woman and said, "Now I am." She watched the look that flashed across Jenna face and knew her gut had been right. There was attraction on at least one end of this "buddy" relationship. Releasing Gibbs, she told him, "I'm getting a little tired of having guns pointed at me Gibbs."

Gibbs had put his own weapon away when she hugged him and he just laughed. "Your methods aren't conventional Abs, but they work when you disarm people." He pulled away from Abby and knelt next to Tony's prone form. "He's okay; just unconscious. Call Ducky."

Abby quickly made the call. "That woman better be glad he didn't get seriously hurt," she said threateningly. She grinned. "So, you gonna let her stew all night like you've done in the past."

Gibbs shook his head and turned. "Nope, I'm going to question her as soon as we get Tony taken care of."

Abby's panicked look hit Jenna and she knew what the woman was after. "Can we watch?" she asked, feeling bile rise in her throat at the thought of what happened being exposed.

Grabbing her arm, Abby said, "Of course. Gibbs' interrogations are always riveting."

As if on cue, Ducky and Palmer entered the lab, Ducky rushing to care for his injured colleague.

The girls exchanged worried glances behind Gibbs' back as he briefed Ducky on the situation.

"Jenna, call your sister and check on her and McGee," Gibbs ordered.

---

"Oh my gosh, are you serious? … Is she okay? … Tony! Oh, no! … We'll be right there. … Jenna! I know the antidote is important, but so are you; so, you better tell Agent Gibbs to get over it. … Okay, whatever."

"What's happening?" McGee asked, concerned.

"The chick that attacked Abby last night got into her lab somehow, knocked Tony out and pulled a gun on Abby."

Seeing his horrified expression, she quickly continued.

"Everyone's okay. Gibbs saved the day… again. Tony is fine; he was just out cold. Ducky's taking care of him." She paused a moment, and then smiled, "Abby is fine, okay. She wasn't touched. Gibbs has the attacker in custody. I want to go upstairs and check on Jenna. I want to watch Gibbs interrogate the big bad chick, and I want to help be part of the solution. But they are insisting I stay here and continue working on the antidote."

"I'd like to go, too, but you have to think of the big picture, Brenna. This antidote is way more critical than checking things out upstairs," he reasoned.

"But I can't focus, McGee! Think about it. Wouldn't it be a more efficient use of my time to take thirty minutes to ease my mind, and then return with renewed vigor? I mean, at this point, I'll be much less productive. Would Gibbs approve of that? I don't think so."

"Brenna, stop trying to manipulate me."

"I'm not manipulating," she rolled her eyes. "It's the truth. I am worthless until I go up there and see for myself that Jenna is fine. Okay? I've been taking care of her for too long to just take her call at face value. She's under a lot of stress right now, okay?"

Brenna smiled when she saw McGee was actually considering her point of view. "Besides," she continued, "you have to admit you want to check on Tony and Abby for yourself."

McGee shrugged and nodded his head in agreement. "A compromise? Twenty minutes?"

"Deal," Brenna said, smiling brightly as she shook his hand.

---

Jenna was busy reassuring Brenna that she was fine when the picture on the television caught her eye. Reading the scrolling marquee under footage of DAX Pharmaceuticals, she grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. 'DAX scientist and researcher Brenna Davis is also being investigated in connection with these allegations…' "Oh, no! Brenna! I have to call Damien!"

Reaching for the phone, she didn't hear Brenna call her name. She did, however, feel the hand on top of hers. Looking up, she stared at Gibbs. "I've been gone for days and haven't called him. I have to let him know what is going on."

Gibbs stared down at her, seeing the same stubbornness she'd revealed outside Abby's lab earlier. "Speakerphone, and McGee records it."

After muting the volume, Tim turned from the TV and ran to his phone. He nodded to Jenna and she dialed the cell phone number she knew by heart, grateful that Damien himself answered. "Damien, it's Jenna."

"Jenna, where are you? You haven't been in the office in days, and now we've got some sort of fiasco going on. The DEA thinks…"

"That you authorized approval on developing an oral biochemical drug, and that Brenna and I might somehow be involved," Jenna finished his sentence. "Damien, I'm so sorry I haven't called. Brenna discovered something in Dexter's lab and we had to run and hide."

"Why? What's going on? What did she discover?" He lowered his voice. "She's up to her neck in this, Jenna. There is substantial paperwork incriminating her."

Jenna smiled faintly at the concern in Damien's voice, but her eyes told everyone how worried she was. "Listen to me. Brenna didn't have anything to do with this. You know that. You've known her longer than you've known me. It's Franklin. He isn't all you think he is. He knows what Brenna saw."

"Adam? You know, I haven't seen him since the day I left early."

Jenna's eyes widened and she looked over at her sister, who had stopped smiling at the news story but paled when she heard that. "He's missing?" At Damien's affirmative answer, she told him, "Damien, the best thing to do right now is to cooperate with the DEA. Brenna **did** see a formula for that pill and she's here with me. We're working to figure this all out, but you will have to work with them, okay?"

"Jenna, you know me. This whole corporation is an open book, as far as I'm concerned. They can look into whatever they need to. You promise me one thing, though."

"What's that Damien?"

"You'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you, sweetheart."

Amazed at her boss's acceptance of the whole situation, Jenna smiled and noticed Gibbs staring at her. "I promise, Damien. I have to go for now, but you take care and I'll be in touch, all right?"

Ending the conversation, she saw Gibbs turn and walk toward the hall where she now knew the interrogation rooms were. Preparing herself for what was about to happen would be useless. How do you prepare for the moment that destroys your life?


	10. Sitting On My MOAS

**Chapter Ten – Sitting on My MOAS**

Gibbs entered the interrogation room, making a movement with his head that told Ziva to leave. She left to join Tony, Tim, Abby, Brenna and Jenna in the observation room.

"It's a bit crowded in here," the technician said. He turned back to his equipment when everyone stared at him, daring him to say more.

Gibbs had taken a seat across from the red-haired woman when Tony remarked, "He shouldn't be in there. He hasn't been able to take his eyes off her."

"What are you talking about?" Jenna asked.

McGee looked over and explained, "Gibbs has a thing for redheads. In the time we've known him, he's only been involved with one woman who wasn't, and that didn't last long."

Abby nodded. "Redheads are his thing. His past wives – all redheads."

Jenna stared at the woman who held her life in her hands and resented her. Not just for the fact that she was going to destroy her life, but because her hair made her interesting to Agent Gibbs. She heard him ask the woman, "Who sent you?" and bit her lip. 'How much did this lady know?' she wondered. She supposed they would all soon find out.

---

Steph smiled.

"Who are you and who sent you?" Gibbs asked again.

Steph's smile morphed into a grin. "You may call me Steph. A man sent me."

Gibbs eyes narrowed. "What's his name?"

She shook her head. "I'm not making it that easy on you, Agent Gibbs. There are answers I want too, you know. Answers I've yet to hear."

"You're not going anywhere near Abby."

"I wasn't going to hurt her."

"I'm not taking that chance with you, Steph," Gibbs said. "Now, answer my question."

She shook her head, and then sighed. "Stop recording," Steph told him, "and I'll give you your answers."

With a hard stare, Gibbs watched for signs of untruth. Seeing nothing in her eyes that would give her away, he signaled with his hand. Not repeating his question again, he waited.

"Who do you think I work for Agent Gibbs? What do you think of when you look at me?" Steph asked, avoiding his question for the moment. She was growing weary of Sterling, but giving him up too quickly wouldn't be in her best interests.

Standing, Gibbs stared down at her. "You're not just a hired gun, are you?"

Tipping her head to concede the fact, she said, "Very good detective work, Special Agent Gibbs."

Planting his hands on the table and staring straight into her eyes from a much closer distance, he asked, "You're government?"

"When they claim me," she admitted.

With a look of disgust, Gibbs muttered, "CIA then, not FBI." He muttered something under his breath about spooks. "What do they want with my forensic scientist?"

Patting his cheek, she told him, "Sit back down. I have a little story for you." Waiting long enough for him to reclaim his chair, she began.

"Several years ago, my boss received a memo. A business man in Louisiana was suspected to have ties to terrorist organizations in the Middle East as well as Central America. He wanted someone inside and quickly. I was fresh off a successful mission and he chose me to get close to this man. So I did what I do best. I infiltrated his operation and became indispensable. Recently, this man received new information regarding his son's unexpected death ten years ago. The information led him to uncovering names, and those names brought me to DC."

"What does that have to do with Abby?"

"If it's as I suspect, it has a lot to do with Abby. The man I've been 'working for', investigating, whatever is Sterling Lancaster. His son was Mike Lancaster. His son was hot for some girl back in high school – Jenna Davis. Lancaster recently got a tip that Mike was to see Jenna the night of his death. While searching the ruins of Ms. Davis' great aunt's house, a message from Abby Scuito was found. Since Jenna Davis couldn't be located in San Antonio, I was sent here to locate Ms. Scuito and find out what she knows."

With every word she'd spoken, Gibbs' gut was telling him more and more that she was being honest and that this was what Abby and Jenna had been hiding. Standing, he looked down on her once more. Resisting the urge to punch the wall, he walked out, shutting the door hard behind him. Opening the door to the observation room, he stared first at Abby then Jenna. They both looked sick. "With me, now."

Brenna started to reach for Jenna but Tim held her back. When the door shut, she turned to him and asked, "Where is he taking them?"

"Probably the elevator," Tim told her.

"Why the elevator?" she wanted to know.

"It's like his conference room," Tony replied.

Brenna wrapped her arms around herself at the waist. She didn't know what would happen now.

"Do you know what this is about? Is what she said true?" McGee asked in concern.

Brenna just shook her head, holding herself that much tighter. To her it seemed as if the temperature in the room had just dropped ten degrees – figuratively and literally. "Let's just want for Abby and Jenna," she said softly, clearly not wanting to talk.

---

Jenna felt sick, knowing it was all over. She couldn't hide anymore. She stole a look at Abby and saw the same look on her face. Angry with herself at how foolish she'd been to come here, she made up her mind to try to salvage someone out of this mess.

Surprised when Gibbs led them to the elevator, she preceded him into it. He stepped inside, pressed a floor then immediately stopped it.

"Would one of you like to explain what is going on to me?"

Jenna's chin came up and she met his gaze. "Mike Lancaster was a schoolmate of mine in high school. He died in a car accident right after graduation." He kept staring at her and she told him, "I was there. I was at the scene when he died. I ran. I called the cops after I'd gotten far enough away."

"Running a habit with you, Jenna?" He asked.

Biting her tongue to hold back her temper and tears of frustration, she told him, "Not normally."

"Did the police contact you?"

"No, there wasn't any evidence that I was there."

Gibbs turned his stare on Abby and Jenna protested, "She didn't have anything to do with it, Agent Gibbs. I covered it up and I've kept it covered since then."

"You don't have to protect me, Jenna," Abby spoke up and looked at Gibbs. "I covered it up, Gibbs."

"Why would you do that, Abby?" Gibbs desperately wanted to understand what had happened back then. He didn't want to lose Abby.

Jenna spoke again, filling in some of the blanks. "Mike was rich and he always got everything he wanted except for one thing. That one thing was a reaction from Ben. He'd insulted him all through school, picked on him and once we started dating, he started to pursue me. That night, Mike was so mean and so provoking that Ben asked what it would take to get him to leave him alone. Mike proposed a car race. Ben didn't want to do it. I certainly didn't want him to do it, but Mike started up again with his insults and Ben told him that he'd race him." Jenna ran her fingers through her hair and looked up at the top of the elevator. "Mike swerved, trying to hit Ben, but he lost control. His car flipped and by the time we got to him, he was dead. We panicked. We knew who his father was and that if he knew we were there that night, we wouldn't have lived long enough to tell anyone what happened. It wouldn't have been the first time Sterling Lancaster had made something controversial go away."

"So you came in and saved the day?" He asked Abby.

"He's my brother, Gibbs. I wasn't going to sit back and watch him disappear because of a stupid mistake someone else made. Yes, it was stupid for Ben to race him, but Mike Lancaster had it out for him for a long time. We sat back and waited for the police to contact us, but they didn't because I was very good at getting everything that incriminated either one of them. When we heard that Mike's death had been ruled an accident because he was high, we agreed to let sleeping dogs lie."

"Ben went to college, Abby went back to school and I moved in with Brenna in San Antonio." Jenna finished.

Gibbs looked at her. "You went along with this to cover your own six."

Jenna laughed but it was a bitter sound. "Yes, I admit it. I was all for getting Abby's help back then! I was a little too fond of living I suppose. I knew that one call from Sterling Lancaster could wipe out my whole family, what was left of it anyway. What chance did any of us have against a man that had pockets deeper than Donald Trump? And he was scary. Any time there was a press conference for one of his businesses you could see it all over him. He didn't care. And man, Agent Gibbs, do you know the stories Mike told everyone about his dad? About how one guy crossed him and was beaten for days before they killed him? And yes, I realize Mike could have been bluffing about that but there were too many coincidences surrounding that man and I don't like coincidences. They've bit me on the butt several times in the past."

"Why didn't you go to the cops? To the feds even?"

Shaking her head, Jenna tried pacing in the elevator but either way she moved she would bump Abby or Gibbs. "Please. Sterling Lancaster is a puppeteer and when he pulls your string, you move. I have kept an eye on him for the last ten years and too many things don't add up. Mike even suspected him of things. He had this…"

Gibbs stepped into Jenna's personal space and asked, "He had this what?"

"It was an envelope full of handwritten contacts. It was on him the night he died."

"You have it." It wasn't a question, not the way Gibbs said it.

"It's in my bag at your house. I've never known for sure what it was, but I knew that for him to have it that it had to be important."

Gibbs stepped back. "This doesn't go beyond the team."

"But what about that spook in interrogation?" Abby asked.

"She doesn't know it all or she'd have told me," Gibbs said. "Abby, you take Tony somewhere secure and tell him what's going on. While we are busy looking into DAX, I want us looking at Lancaster too. I want to know more about him. Jenna, have Brenna tell McGee and you tell Ziva while I talk with our spook. She's in our custody now and once word gets to Sterling, he'll most likely send someone else to do his work. Stick with Ziva for the rest of the day."

"Where will you be?" Jenna asked.

"I'll be getting what information I can out of Steph. She's been with him for years and he trusts her, she has to know what is going on."

Jenna looked down at the floor and said, "Sure, okay, will do."


	11. Jeopardy

**Chapter Eleven – Jeopardy**

"Ummm… Tony?" Abby began, scooting the toe of her shoe around on the floor absently like a 7 year old trying not to look her daddy in the eye.

"Yes?" he replied. He stood still, trying to be patient. But his patience was stretched to its limits. What he really wanted to do was yell and scream and hit someone. He had no idea what had happened, but it clearly had Abby very upset. He stared down at her, waiting for her to actually look at him.

"Do you remember when you and I had that conversation about big secrets, and I said that eventually they all come out, and you didn't want to tell me yours, although I'm pretty sure it was Jeanne, right?" she said very quickly, not exactly certain how to go about telling this story that was only partially hers.

"Yeah, I was sitting on my MOAS. As I recall, you weren't too eager to share your own."

"Correct. But that was then. Things have changed now," Abby said, finally raising her head to look at him. When she saw the concern in his eyes, she immediately dropped his gaze. Would he look at her the same way Gibbs did when he found out what she had done?

"Spill, Abby."

"Okay. I was in college and my brother was just finishing up his senior year of high school. He was dating Jenna Davis – pretty seriously, if I recall correctly. One of their fellow students, not a friend, had a thing for Jenna and kept getting in Ben's face. Not to mention how he would lurk around Jenna, trying to be charming. One night he took things too far, and Ben agreed to get into a car race with him. Jenna was there; she saw the whole thing. Apparently the guy was high, and ended up losing control of his vehicle. He was killed. Ben and Jenna didn't want to call the police. If you were from New Orleans, you would understand. This kid's last name spelled power, money and corruption. They knew if they called the cops, there were very literally dead. So Ben called me."

"What could you do that they couldn't?" Tony asked, already suspecting her answer.

"I covered up any evidence of their having been at the scene of the crime. I also covered evidence from the pay phone I used to report the incident. Since Mike was high, the police ruled it a tragic accident. But now, apparently, Lancaster has gotten wind of Jenna and my involvement and wants to know more about his son's death."

"Did you say Lancaster?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, Sterling Lancaster. He's this big bad…"

"Abby! Do you have any idea how many agencies want to take that man down?"

"Well, I'm not exactly surprised, Tony! Look, I wasn't with NCIS yet. I wasn't even officially a forensics professional – only a student. Yeah, I did have to lie on my application materials. But not really. It only asks if you've ever been convicted of a crime, not if you've…"

"Abby, calm down," Tony said. "The lady from interrogation; how does she fit into the picture?"

"Everything she said was true. She's CIA, working deep undercover. She infiltrated Lancaster's ranks long ago. She claims to have enough to destroy him."

"That's great news, Abby."

"Yeah, Tony; great. I just wish I could focus on that instead of the fact that he now knows my name and the fact that I'm somehow tied to his son's death!"

"You're my buddy, remember? I'm not leaving you," he pulled her close and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Fat lot of good that does me when you get knocked unconscious."

"Hey!" he protested, but smiled at the renewed joy in her voice.

---

After filling him in on the details, Brenna allowed McGee to lead her to the elevator, as they made their way back to the makeshift lab.

"Um… Brenna?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"You really didn't know any of this?"

"Not until we were on our way here," she answered honestly. "I'm amazed Jenna was able to keep a secret this big away from me for this long. I mean, we're more than sisters – we're best friends. We live together, work together…"

"I bet that would be difficult. I'm having a hard enough time wrapping my mind around the fact that Abby covered up a crime like that, and we're nowhere as close as you and your sister."

Brenna gave him a curious look. "What exactly is your relationship?"

"Besides complicated?" McGee scoffed. "We're friends. We had a little thing for awhile, but I wanted more than she did. She called me passive-aggressive. So we're friends again. Honestly, I don't know if what we had was ever more than friendship to Abby."

"But it was to you," Brenna acknowledged.

"Yep," he said, nodding his head.

"Still?" she asked.

"A little pining sometimes, I guess." McGee stopped in his tracks, causing Brenna to almost walk into him. "I can't believe I just told you that." McGee's face practically glowed with the intensity of his blush. "It just came out. I guess you're just easy to talk to."

"That's me. Good ol' girl next door. I'm always everyone's favorite person to talk to and no one's favorite person to talk about," she quipped, eyebrows raised.

"I doubt that," he said.

"You'd be surprised."

"Here we are," McGee said, opening the door for her. She smiled and stepped in before him.

Just as it dawned on McGee that he had locked the door of the lab when they left, Brenna let out a scream. He drew his weapon, and turned sharply in the direction from which her scream had originated. No one was there. He had only taken his eyes off her for a second. He stepped further into the room, turning attentively from one side to the next, still not seeing any sign of Brenna or anyone who could have attacked her.

"Brenna!" he called out. No response. Lowering his gun, he grabbed his cell phone to alert Gibbs. Before he could say a word, he felt cool air brush his ear and then nothing, as he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

---

"What is going on?" Ziva asked, the moment she and Jenna were alone.

"Would you prefer the short or long version?"

"Which gets me the truth faster?" Ziva parried back to her.

Jenna turned tired eyes to Ziva and said, "I dated Abby's brother in high school. The richest guy in school was always in his face and after graduation, goaded Ben into racing him. Mike wrecked when he lost control of his car trying to swerve into Ben. By the time we reached him, he was dead. We called Abby and she cleaned the scene. We left, she called 911 and reported it from a pay phone and made sure no evidence was left there either. Mike was high, his death ruled an accident and we kept quiet all these years."

"Why did you run?"

"Because his father would have had us killed. Mike was his only son and while he never showed for school events, he always cleared up Mike's messes."

"So is that all?"

Jenna looked shocked. "What do you mean, is that all? That's enough right there. We not only left the scene of an accident, we erased any evidence we'd been there."

"You didn't kill him. You didn't force him into the car. Yes, you left the scene which was wrong, but he was dead. If he hadn't died then it probably would have happened sooner rather than later, possibly even later that night. You feared for your life. The 'fight or flight' instinct is strong in everyone. Trust me, I know."

Looking at the foreign officer, Jenna felt strangely as if the other woman understood what had happened. Remembering that she was Mossad, she realized that she probably understood much more than that.

---

Gibbs cleared the observation room of the techs then entered interrogation and sat across from Steph. "You aren't taking either of them."

Steph perked up at that. "Jenna Davis is here?"

"Yes, she and her sister are helping us with an investigation. Once the investigation is over, you can speak with Abby and Jenna about what happened…" he looked down at his cell phone and saw that McGee was calling him. "What McGee? … McGee?"

Hearing nothing, he stood. "You're coming with me."

As they ran, Gibbs contacted Ziva and Tony and they met up outside the lab Brenna had been using to formulate her antidote. Abby and Jenna stayed back, behind the agents and the spook.

Entering the lab, Gibbs saw McGee propped up against the work table, phone lying on the floor beside his body. Clearing the lab, Gibbs ran to him, checking his pulse while calling for Ducky. As he rushed into the lab, he frowned. "Two people knocked unconscious in one day?"

Steph shrugged. "I didn't do it this time. I was locked in the interrogation room."

"Where's Brenna?" Jenna asked, looking around the lab.

"Maybe she's hiding somewhere?" Tony suggested.

Jenna looked at him. "What reason would she have to hide now, Agent DiNozzo?"

"She's got a point," Steph said. "She would have come out when she saw her sister here."

"Exactly," Jenna agreed. "So where is she?"

"Her purse is still here," Ziva said and peered into it.

"What are you looking for?" Jenna asked.

"Cell phone," Ziva told her.

"She'd have it on her, at least, she normally does." Jenna pulled out her cell phone to call, but Gibbs closed it.

"Don't, not until we figure out who has her." He told her.

Jenna wanted to scream. "Isn't it obvious? It's got to be Franklin!"

"Could be Lancaster," Tony said then closed his mouth from the double glare of Gibbs and Jenna.

Gibbs looked back at Jenna, "Why does it have to be Franklin?"

Jenna pointed to Steph. "She's been here this entire time with no way to contact Lancaster. Did you have a check in time with him?"

Steph nodded and said, "I was to call him tonight at 8 o'clock to share what I'd found."

"See? She hasn't contacted him, he's not expecting her too yet, so why would he think we were here and why grab Brenna?"

"To make you talk," Abby suggested.

Jenna asked Steph, "You didn't tell him we were here, did you?"

Steph shook her head. "I didn't know you were here until right before the rush to get here."

"The door was unlocked," came McGee's voice and Abby rushed to hug him.

"Tim, how are you?" she asked.

"Not good, Abs. Brenna's missing, isn't she?" He looked up and across at Gibbs, seeing the answer there. "It's my fault boss. The door was unlocked and it wasn't until she walked in ahead of me that I realized it."

"What were you doing right before that, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Talking about," he motioned his hand towards Jenna and Abby. "Then I opened the door, realized it had been locked and Brenna screamed. I came in, pulled my weapon, and called you when I realized she wasn't here. That's when someone knocked me out."

Steph's eyes widened as his gaze found hers. "Hey! It wasn't me this time!"

"How did they get in here?" Abby asked.

"Well this part of the building isn't as secure as the rest," Steph said. "If I hadn't been able to fake my credentials, I'd have chosen this way to get in."

"We've upped security over here," Tony told her.

"Yes, of course, as evidenced by all the security guards that came running when Brenna Davis screamed." Steph said dryly. "I studied this building from top to bottom and the weakest points were this area and autopsy. All you have to do to get in there would be to fake being dead." Seeing everyone's reactions to that, she continued. "Now this area of the building has several accesses that make a snatch and grab easy and get-away concealed. The best is a small hallway off that door over there that leads directly to on outside exit at the back of the building. From there, it would be a small walk to the parking lot and from there, off the Navy Yard. All you have to do is play tourist. And I agree with Jenna, Sterling wouldn't have done this. One, he knows I get the job done. Two, he will wait until 8 PM before he acts. Three, he has no clue where Jenna is, so he would keep coming after Abby until he gets his answers."

McGee was standing by this time and moved to the laptop he had set up for his work. "I'll check flights and see if Adam Franklin was on any of them, boss."

Jenna walked over to him, "Maybe this would help?" She gave him Franklin's bank account number.

The team stared at her and Jenna shrugged, "I remember numbers easily, I told you that, and Franklin was writing a check one day when I delivered some documents to him."

McGee accessed the bank account and he looked sick. "He used his bank card to book a flight to DC, boss." Checking the flight in question, McGee's eyes looked haunted. "It landed several hours ago."


	12. Rescue

**Chapter Twelve – Rescue**

Brenna's eyes kept shifting from the road to the gun in Adam Franklin's hand. He'd taken her from the lab after knocking poor Tim unconscious, forcing her into the car and making her drive them off the Navy Yard. Now they were quickly making their way out of DC.

"Where are we going?" Brenna asked him.

"Back to Texas."

"Why?"

He raised the gun and told her, "Stop asking questions and drive."

Brenna was silent for several miles before she realized she had her cell phone in her pocket. Hoping it would work, she dared asked one more question, "Will you at least let me go to the bathroom?" Franklin stared at her and she shrugged. "I have to go."

"Pull over at that rest area up ahead," Franklin said. "No… On second thought, pull up to that old gas station. Rest area restrooms have multiple stalls, and I don't trust you not to try to get a message to someone. And Brenna; remember, I don't need you alive for what I have planned."

"Do I look like I got stupid overnight?" she countered, allowing her annoyance with him to shine through. "It's not like you need me to accomplish your goals anyway. You've clearly set me up."

Franklin's responding smile was as calculated and evil as any Brenna had ever seen on any smarmy villain in any film she could recall. She suppressed the chill it gave her, not wanting him to know how frightened she was.

"Nice to see you appreciate my handiwork," he gloated. "You should never have come into that lab; and once you had, you should never have attempted to get the word out. Now, not only will you pay for it, but your sister will as well." Seeing that they were at the gas station, he interrupted himself. "Don't park near anyone either."

"Again; not an idiot," Brenna muttered. She pulled the car into a space far from any others and shut off the engine.

"Now, you're going to walk with me, slightly in front of me. Go in and do your business quickly. Remember, I'm right outside."

"Yeah, yeah…" she said as she opened the bathroom door and stepped inside.

---

Jenna's cell phone started ringing in her hand. Startled, she looked at the display and saw "Brenna calling" flashing on her screen. "It's her," she said, as she answered the phone.

"McGee! Trace the call," Gibbs ordered.

"On it, Boss."

"Jenna don't say a word. I'm in the bathroom in a gas station just across the Virginia border. Franklin took me. I'm leaving this call open; see if they can trace it."

"Brenna? Brenna?" Jenna bit her lip. "She's not answering. She said Franklin took her, they're across the state line already and she was leaving the call open so you could track her."

"Accessing the network now," McGee explained. "Now, locating the towers her call is coming from. They are on the move, the cell towers just switched. Boss, looks like they are headed west."

Jenna's worried eyes met Gibbs'. "He's taking her back to Texas."

"Over my dead body, he is," Gibbs muttered. "Ziva, you're with Abby and Jenna. Do not leave them, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Boss."

"I'm going with you," Jenna said, walking up to Gibbs and looking directly into his eyes.

"No, you're not," he said gruffly.

"She's my sister!"

"I know that!" he said, a bit more loudly than he intended. He took her by the arm and led her slightly away from the others. "Listen to me, Jenna. We don't know what's going on out there. If you tag along, you'll be more of a liability than a help to your sister. Stay here in case she gets a chance to call again. Stay with Abby and Ziva."

Wordlessly, Jenna relented, stepping back to stand with the other ladies.

"What about her," Ziva asked, nodding toward Steph.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Steph, who smirked in return. He smiled back and shook his head. "Keep an eye on her, too."

"So let me get this straight," Steph proposed. "You're taking the two injured members of your team with you, and leaving your best to cover three women?"

"Yep," Gibbs said, refusing to explain himself. "Let's roll!"

---

Steph watched with the other three as the men left. "Well, since we've been banned from joining the men's club today, what do you say about building a case against Sterling Lancaster?"

"What will the CIA say about you ending the mission before they okay it?" Jenna asked.

"I couldn't care less. They don't always look out for the best interests of their agents and they have been known to let cases go on past the point of no return. So, who wants to look at my flash drive?" She wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh me!" Abby said, gaining a chuckle from Ziva. "Let's go to my lab." She turned and led the way, followed closely by Steph, Ziva and finally Jenna.

For the next hour, Steph led them through the information she'd compiled and the photos and documents she'd backed up. Abby had gone through three Caf-Pows, Ziva had questioned every little thing and Jenna kept staring at her cell phone. No other calls had come in. Jenna watched Ziva for a few minutes, noticing that she wasn't paying any attention to anyone other than Steph. Easing back slowly, she waiting for Ziva to ask another question then turned and ran out of the lab.

Slowing to a walk, she rounded a corner and bumped into the man everyone called Ducky. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you."

"Oh my dear, I'm fine. You're not hurt, are you?" he asked.

She blinked, looking down and shook her head. "No, I'm not hurt."

She felt his hand under her chin, raising her face to his. "You have to get out of that room for a while, eh?"

"Yes."

"I understand. Let's have a walk, shall we?"

Jenna sighed in relief at not being chastised for running out. "That would be lovely."

He turned around in the direction she'd been walking and offered her his arm. She smiled at his charming way and linked her arm through his.

"You're very worried about your sister," he stated.

"Yes. I keep waiting for my cell phone to ring or Abby's lab phone and there's just this quiet. I mean, sure they are talking, but I just keep waiting for the phone to ring."

Patting the hand resting on his arm, he told her, "Jethro is the best NCIS has. He'll bring her back and she'll be fine."

"Jethro?" Jenna asked.

Ducky stopped and smiled at her. "No one told you his name?"

Jenna shook her head. "No. He was introduced as Special Agent Gibbs and everyone has called him Gibbs."

"Well, then, I believe it's only fair you know his name. Leroy Jethro Gibbs. No one calls him Leroy and hardly anyone other than the director and myself call him Jethro. No one calls him sir."

"Okay. I've got it, I think." Jenna bit her lip. "How long do you think it will take him to bring her back?"

"Let's go back to Abby's lab. We'll see if they've heard anything."

Impulsively, Jenna hugged the older man. "Thank you, Ducky."

---

"I can't believe you let him get her, McGee," Tony chided.

"You have room to talk, DiNozzo," Gibbs said sarcastically.

"No, he's right, Boss," McGee said, still looking half sick with worry. "It is my fault. I'm the special agent. I'm the one who was supposed to guard her. I knew there was danger. And I knew I had locked that stupid door," he continued.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked. "You made a mistake. It won't happen again," his voice was almost as threatening as it was reassuring, "but you have to stop kicking yourself over this or you won't do us any good out here."

"Yes, Boss. It's just that…"

"Whoa!" Tony shouted. "Check this out. Virginia tags, plate number YMX-1109."

"That's the rental car we spotted on the security footage," McGee chimed in.

"Ya think, McGee?" Gibbs said, focusing on the car.

"Looks like them, Boss," Tony said, reaching for his weapon.

"What do you think you're doing," McGee protested.

"I'm going to take out a tire. We'll get him stopped sooner that way."

"What if he decided to just shoot Brenna?" McGee asked. "Really dumb idea, Tony."

"You're both right," Gibbs interjected. "We need to handle this as soon as possible, but we need to wait for the right moment. We can't let Brenna be at risk. I'll follow from a few cars back. We don't want him to know we're on him."

---

"We're running low on gas," Brenna told Franklin.

Franklin looked at the gas gauge and clenched his jaw. He looked around and saw another, older gas station that wasn't very busy. "Pull in there. You pump, but remember I'll be right here watching. No tricks." He aimed the gun toward her and gave her a menacing glare.

Brenna's look told spoke volumes. "I like breathing, okay?"

She pulled up to the pumps and turned the car off. Stepping out, she noticed a sedan pulling into the station and was surprised to see Gibbs in the driver's seat. He saw her looking and motioned for her to continue. She opened the door to the gas tank, removed the gas cap and started to pump the gas. She noticed that Franklin still had the gun trained on her, lest she be tempted to make a false move.

While keeping the weapon carefully aimed at his gas-pumping captive, Franklin watched other cars arrive and depart out of the corner of his eye. He had been trained to be observant, and the last thing he needed was to catch the eye of a police officer with his weapon in hand. Of course, he had a Texas permit for carrying the weapon, and he knew Virginia honored that permit; and openly carrying a weapon in the state of Virginia is legal by anyone, as long as the gun is completely visible. However, he sincerely doubted that having it pointed in someone else's direction was what was the law had in mind. He also knew that despite the state's weapons carry laws, having a weapon out is the best way to catch the attention of an alert police officer, or even a nosy do-gooder.

"What do you mean, you don't take checks?" Franklin's attention was drawn toward a man who was arguing loudly with a gas station employee regarding his chosen method of payment. He narrowed his eyes. 'Who still uses checks, anyway? It's the electronic age, moron,' he thought with derision. "But I'll just… if you could just…" the man continued trying to work the employee. Franklin began to admire the man's technique. He was almost certain this guy was about to drive away with free gas.

Noticing that Franklin's attention was now solely focused on DiNozzo, Brenna propped the pump in place, setting it to auto pump on the lowest setting. She then began to inch her way toward McGee, who was slowly ambling across the parking lot, not drawing attention to himself. Not knowing for how long Agent DiNozzo would able to hold his attention, she made eye contact with McGee and at his nod, took off at full speed toward him. He allowed her to run past him, and then followed, keeping himself between her and Franklin's vehicle.

Catching the blur of Brenna's movement in the edge of his peripheral vision, Franklin swore under his breath. He started for the door, determined to bring her back, when he noticed she had backup, and was climbing into the back of a Government Issue sedan. He had to get out of there, and fast. As he climbed into the driver's seat, he realized the gas pump was still attached to his vehicle via the nozzle, which was still dispensing gasoline. He swore again. He looked up and saw the man who had been arguing with the station employee approaching his car, badge in hand. Knowing he couldn't afford to be detained, he slammed the car into gear and hit the accelerator, tearing the nozzle from the pump and spewing gasoline across the lot of the station.

Tony slid into the already moving sedan and secured the door, as Gibbs screeched out of the lot to follow Franklin. Unfortunately, the man already had a lead on them, and apparently Franklin was a skilled driver. After a few minutes, it was obvious they had lost him. Gibbs swore softly under his breath as he slammed both hands into the steering wheel.

"Are you okay?" McGee asked Brenna, his eyes full of concern.

"He didn't hurt me, the miserable jerk. But he did admit to being behind the set up. He may be good, but this isn't what he does for a living. Maybe we can find an error or some other way to prove my innocence, or maybe…"

"You're rambling," Tony said. "Do you always ramble when you're nervous?"

"Oh, I'm not nervous. I just talk all the time. Sorry. Now Jenna, on the other hand, she ramb… Jenna! Oh my gosh! I almost forgot. I have to call and tell her I'm okay."

---

Sterling's fingers drummed a staccato on the desk in his hotel room. He knew Steph wasn't to check in with him until eight o'clock, but normally she'd have the job done several hours early. He wasn't taking a chance that the only lead to his son's early death would get away. He picked up the phone and called in his back-up.


	13. Untangling the Web

**Chapter Thirteen – Untangling the Web**

Jenna had hugged Ducky twice more since the call came in about Brenna. She was so happy that her sister was alright and on her way back. She didn't want to think about what all could have happened, but she was sure she would get a full accounting of the rescue once they were all back. And Jethro…Gibbs would see all the evidence they had compiled against Sterling Lancaster. Maybe then he would understand exactly how dangerous he was and her need to run. She wasn't exactly sure why his approval meant so much to her at this point, but it did.

The ladies were waiting in the squad room when the elevator doors opened, and they could hear Brenna and McGee talking over each other. Tony and Gibbs followed behind, looking as if they wanted to smack both of them in the head.

"Tim, I keep telling you, it's not your fault." Brenna said as Jenna ran to hug her. She hugged her sister tightly, but continued to converse with McGee, unfazed.

"If I had done my job and gone in first…"

Letting go of Jenna, she told him, "You would have been knocked out sooner. At least you were able to get Gibbs' attention before that happened."

"I wasn't as alert as I could have been," McGee was explaining. "I should have…

With an exasperated sigh, Brenna grabbed him by his somewhat slumped shoulders, pulled him down toward her and kissed him square on the mouth. By the time she let him go, Gibbs and Tony were grinning widely, Jenna was smiling, Ziva and Steph smirking and Abby looked a bit upset. McGee himself was dazed and Brenna wanted to kiss him again. He really was so adorable – especially now that her lip gloss had left his mouth shining.

She looked around and saw the look on Abby's face. Trying to mend fences, she said, "He's been apologizing the entire way back here, and nothing I could say would get him to stop. Do you have a better way to shut him up?"

Abby stared at her for a minute, and then looked at Tim. A slow smile started to form and she admitted, "That's the quickest way I know."

"Oh, so you were just shutting him up," Tony said in a teasing tone. "Because if that was some sort of reward, there WERE others of us involved in your rescue." He gave her an inviting look and a wink. He had noticed Abby's reaction to Brenna kissing Tim, and wanted to divert to a topic that would be more comfortable for her. As humor was his usual diversion of choice, he did what he could to lighten the mood.

Brenna laughed. "Thank you, Agent DiNozzo," she said, standing on tiptoe to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "And thank you, Agent Gibbs," she mimicked, giving him a similar kiss. "All better now?" she asked Tony.

"Much. Thanks."

Brenna winked at Jenna, a subtle reminder to put a smile back on her face. She hugged her sister again, whispering soft in her ear, "No big deal, just breathe."

Jenna chuckled in response, and hoped no one had noticed her reaction to her sister kissing Gibbs so innocently on the cheek. She was beginning to wonder what was wrong with her: it wasn't like her to become this territorial over someone so quickly. At this point, she had already been tempted to rip out Steph's hair. Now she wanted to tear off her sister's lips. Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Sort of.

---

Sterling faced the man he had called to join him in DC. "She hasn't completed her assignment."

"That's not like Steph."

"No, it isn't. That's why I called you. This is the same information she had, with a few extras thrown in. Finish the job."

Opening the envelope, the man pulled out a name and address, work history and three pictures labeled "Abby Sciuto", "Jenna Davis", and "Brenna Davis".

"You said there were two targets," the man reminded Sterling.

"There's a sister as well. She was at college when Mike died, but if her sister had anything to do with it, I'm sure she knew about it."

"And if none of them had anything to do with it…?" he asked.

Sterling's cold eyes met his, "Get rid of them anyway."

---

"Okay, this is everything I could get from the DEA incriminating Brenna," Ziva said and brought up the paperwork and electronic logs that incriminated Brenna.

Brenna looked at the paperwork. "I never signed any of that!" Reading the codes on the logs, she said, "I don't go into any of those areas. What has he done?"

Tony put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, Brenna; we'll figure this out."

"How?" she asked him.

Tony stopped smiling and said, "Probie will straighten it out." He turned to Tim. "Right, McGee?"

Tim swallowed as Brenna looked at him. "Ah, well, let's check the log program first. That should tell us if anyone has tampered with it; then we'll get the user ID code and track that to whoever changed the files."

Brenna smiled. "Sounds like a great place to start."

Gibbs stared at his agent who seemed to be knocked senseless by that smile again. "So do it, McGee."

"Right! On it, boss!" McGee ran around his desk to his computer to start looking.

"So, what have you four been up to?" Gibbs asked, turning his attention to Abby and the other ladies.

Abby bounced over and took control of the plasma. "Oh, not much; just heavily nailing Sterling Lancaster's coffin shut!" Clicking a button, she skimmed through several pieces of evidence, stopping when she found the one she wanted. "Meet Chuck McIntosh, Senior Field Agent for the FBI."

"Sterling killed him in his home office not long after I started working there," Steph told Gibbs.

"You didn't report this?" Gibbs asked.

"I told my contact and he was supposed to forward it up the line. Whether or not he did that, I don't know," Steph said.

"Plus, Jenna has an old list of contacts at your house, Gibbs. She saw these forms," Abby clicked again and the screen changed, "and recognized them to be like the ones she has. So, with the Agent's murder, we've got a great start."

"A start?" he questioned.

"Well, there is also the drug trafficking, and that's what the contact lists are for. He has them encrypted on his computer, and the program is written to delete itself if someone tries a password to unlock it that is more than two characters off," Steph informed him.

"How do you know this?"

She grinned. "I'm a spook, I know everything."

"Boss, these files have been changed. They didn't get far enough into the system to make them authentic, but they were in enough to plant this information," McGee said from his desk.

"Who changed it?" Gibbs asked.

"Looking through the log codes now… It was Adam Franklin, boss."

"YAY! So this clears me?" Brenna asked.

Ziva looked her way. "It's a start."

---

He was tired. He'd hadn't slept since he had started investigating Franklin, and the flight he'd just come off of hadn't helped his disposition. All roads had led to Franklin, and Franklin, being a man of the electronic age, hadn't bothered to stop using his bank card for purchases. He was in DC to turn evidence over to the DEA and to NCIS to clear Brenna Davis' name, and he was hoping to help the Feds capture the arrogant rat.

The guard at the gate had scoffed at his PI's license, but had let him onto the Navy Yard. The guard inside the building was more skeptical and he radioed up to have an agent escort him to the agent in charge of the DAX/Davis investigation. The agent kept his distance and stayed quiet on the ride up. He delivered him to a desk beside a plasma screen and announced their presence to the agent in charge.

"Special Agent Gibbs? I'm Daniel Carver, private investigator for DAX Pharmaceuticals. I have some information that your agency and the DEA might be interested in."

"Will it clear Brenna?" A lovely woman with jet-black pigtails asked.

He smiled at her and she grinned at him. "Yes, I believe it will."

---

"Attention Officers, be on the look-out for a black, 2003 Ford Taurus, Virginia Plates, Yankee Mike X-ray -1 1 0 Niner. Suspect is armed and dangerous. Call for back-up if spotted, apprehend with caution."

The two state troopers heard the APB and looked at the road ahead of them. "It's our lucky day. There's the car," the driver said.

"Yeah, dispatch; this is Officer Stanton. We've spotted the vehicle on HWY 360 headed south. Approaching the car in our vehicle now."

"Copy that, Officer; back-up is on their way. Be alert, the suspect is armed and dangerous. Over."

"Copy that, dispatch. Over and out."

"Let's get him," Stanton's partner said. They smiled and turned their lights on.

---

"Gibbs," he said, answering his desk phone. "What? When?" He hung up the phone and turned. "Adam Franklin was just apprehended on a Virginia highway. State Troopers are turning him over to the FBI, since his most recent crime was abducting and carrying Brenna Davis across the state line."

The two sisters shared a smile of relief. Between the evidence McGee discovered and the information the private investigator found, both Brenna and Damien would be cleared of suspicion. With Franklin's arrest, one bad guy was out of the way. Now they could focus their attention on bringing down Lancaster. They would need all the help they could get.


	14. All in the Game

**Chapter Fourteen – All in the Game**

By the end of the day, Jenna felt like she'd been on an emotional roller coaster, and that exhausted her. She was yawning in the chair at Gibbs' desk as they wrapped things up with the DEA on the DAX investigation. She should feel relief that Brenna was safe, but all she could think about was that somewhere out there, Sterling Lancaster was on to her. Her neck was tight and she could feel a tension headache coming on. Closing her eyes for a moment, she was startled to be shaken awake by strong hands.

"Come on, Jenna," Gibbs said, "let's go."

She stood. "We're still doing the buddy thing?"

"Yep," was his reply.

"Where's Brenna?"

"I'm right here. I didn't want to wake you until it was time to go. You looked like you were getting a headache."

Jenna smiled at her sister and hugged her. Whispering in her ear, she told her, "Take it easy on McGee."

Brenna laughed and replied, "I will if you will," and nodded in Gibbs direction.

Jenna blushed and smiled slightly. "I don't think you have anything to worry about on that front."

---

He was watching from across the street, surprised to find each sister and the Sciuto woman leaving with different men. Steph must have messed up badly to have each one protected by a federal agent. Picking out the car Jenna was in and matching the agent with her to a picture in his file, he let the car pass by him. He knew the agent's name from the picture ID: Special Agent Gibbs. His home address was listed in the file and, once all the cars traveled past him, he started the engine of his gray truck and made his way away from the Navy Yard. Special Agent Gibbs was about to get a visit he didn't expect.

---

"So, what was with you and the private eye, Abby?" Tony asked as they slowly made their way from the Chinese restaurant where they'd just picked up dinner.

Abby grinned. "He's kinda cute, Tony."

"You go for that, huh?"

Abby laughed outright and rolled her eyes at him. "Like you haven't 'gone for that' in the past?"

Tony smiled even though he didn't feel very happy. "Oh, I have definitely never gone for that. I don't swing that way, Abs."

"I meant that you go for cute, not cute male private investigator."

"You have a point, Ms. Sciuto," he conceded.

"Exactly. Now, tell me; what is Tony DiNozzo doing to get back in the game?"

He shrugged as they reached his building and parked. "You mean other than 'going for that' every chance I get?"

Abby thought for a moment and then told him, "Never mind. I don't think I want to know."

---

"So, you're the main contact for all three buddy teams?" Steph asked, sitting across from Ziva with a glass of wine.

"Yes," Ziva confirmed, cutting into her chicken.

They had agreed to get some dinner. Steph had decided to take a break from work, since the CIA would have everything they needed to take Sterling down by morning. Steph admired the Israeli woman in front of her, knowing she was like a fish out of water coming from Mossad to an agency like NCIS.

"What made you become the liaison officer between NCIS and Mossad?" she asked her.

"I wanted a change. NCIS is a very nice change."

Steph smiled. The Mossad officer had been very talkative earlier in questioning the evidence against Sterling, but now that they were alone, she was quiet and observant. Both sides were appealing to her.

---

"You are awesome. I wish I could say it better, but there are no other words. Just awesome," Brenna told him with a huge smile on her face.

McGee blushed, making Brenna smile all the wider. He was just adorable! And his mouth was perfect. She had been tempted to kiss him since she met him, and didn't regret for a moment giving in to the impulse earlier that day when she had an excuse.

"I'm not awesome," he said quietly. "If Tony had been guarding you, or Gibbs, you probably would never have…"

"McGee! Are you trying to get me to kiss you again?" she teased. "Seriously. You need to stop berating yourself over this. You have done a great job protecting me. And I can't even believe how quickly you uncovered the evidence against Franklin and cleared my name. You're totally my hero."

"Well, that's a bit of a stretch," he said, slumping into the chair next to the bed. She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, facing him.

"Agent McGee, I think I'm more than qualified to assess my own feelings toward you at the moment. You can hedge and avoid and put yourself down all you want, but it doesn't change anything." She looked into his eyes, begging him to see that she was sincere. "I was only trying to thank you for a job well done. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm never very comfortable with someone telling me I've done a good job right on the heels of failure."

"For the last time, it wasn't your fault!" she said, letting out a sound of frustration that was some sort of cross between a growl and a squeal. "You know, you may be extremely intelligent, absolutely gorgeous and smoking hot, but you are really starting to piss me off. Nobody is perfect. If Agent Gibbs had been guarding me, I would still have been taken. And look at what happened in the lab today; Tony didn't have a moment to respond. Now get over it and stop feeling sorry for yourself. I need a shower," she added, almost as an afterthought. She gathered her things and stormed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

McGee's pensive expression slowly turned to a smile as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms behind his head. Maybe he had done a good job today, after all.

---

Gibbs put the food down on the table and saw Jenna heading for the front door. "Where are you going?"

"I think I dropped my cell phone in the car, I'll be right …" Jenna was grabbed and jerked off the porch toward the road.

Gibbs was running before the man disappeared from view. Gun ready, he made it to the yard just as Jenna bit the man's hand and elbowed him in the stomach. He brought his weapon up, ready to fire, when the man grabbed Jenna and pulled her to him. Gibbs heard the gun fire a moment before Jenna dropped to the ground.

Firing openly, he ran to Jenna, keeping his eyes on his target. Seeing that the man had been hit, he looked down at Jenna. She had been shot in her midsection. Gibbs ripped his button-up shirt off, pressing it to the wound as he dialed 911.

"This is Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. A woman has been shot. She is down. The suspect got away, but I think I hit him. Get an ambulance here now," he said shortly. After providing the address, he was asked to stay on the line until emergency services arrived. He informed the lady that he had an investigation to run, but left the line open. He retrieved Jenna's cell phone from the floorboard of his car, and contacted Ziva. He filled her in on the events of the past few minutes, while attending to Jenna's wound as best as he could.

Jenna was blinking at him, trying to breathe. Her mouth opened once, and then twice, as if she were trying to speak before her eyes closed, shutting him and the pain out.

"Jenna! Jenna!"

---

McGee was busy in the kitchen when his cell phone rang. Seeing the ID display Ziva's name, he answered right away.

"McGee… What?... When? Where are they taking her? We're on our way." Ending the call, he ran out of the kitchen, through his bedroom and started pounding on the bathroom door. "Brenna!"

"Hold your horses, Tim. I'll be out in a minute."

"Brenna! Ziva just called. Jenna was shot. The ambulance is taking her to the hospital now."

The door flew open, and Brenna rushed out, still trying to tug a t-shirt over her towel-wrapped hair. "Help," she squealed.

He tried not to smile as he helped her get her shirt on. She quickly exchanged her pajama shorts for jeans, not even bothering to hide herself from him. Jenna was more important than modesty. She tore off the towel and shook out her wet hair, finger combing it into some semblance of order. She shoved her feet in her boots and was by the front door holding her purse when she noticed Tim wasn't beside her. "Tim, get the lead out! Get me to the hospital!"

"Waiting on you," he said, as he grabbed his keys and led her to the car, this time carefully watching for any threats.

---

Gibbs had hopped into the ambulance with the EMTs. The shooter was wounded and he knew Ziva was already placing a BOLO for him. Jenna was whiter than the sheets covering her legs, and the technician on her left side kept replacing bloody, soaked-through gauze with fresh ones. The driver was relaying her stats to the hospital and the tech on the right side, where Gibbs sat, was busy managing the IVs they had already started. The jolt transferring the gurney to the ground caused her to open her eyes for a moment, searching, finding his and then closing once more.

He stood in front of the reception desk in his jeans and t-shirt, staring after the techs, nurses and doctors rushing her into the emergency room. A nurse touched his arm, "Sir?"

Gibbs looked down at her. "What?" he asked, ready to follow and find out how badly Jenna was hurt.

"Sir, if you'd like to clean your hands first, the bathrooms are over there. Then we can get you to fill out this paperwork."

For the first time since everything happened, Gibbs looked at his hands. Stained red from dried blood, he had held them clenched the whole trip, blaming himself for what had happened.

"Sure, I'll clean up," he told the nurse.


	15. Coming Together

**Chapter Fifteen – Coming Together**

"AH!" the man said as he stumbled into the room he had rented earlier in the day. Looking down at his shoulder, he knew it would take surgery to fix the damage done by the federal agent's bullet. There wasn't time for that at the moment. He had to report.

Picking up the secure cell phone, he pressed one digit and the call was sent.

"What news do you have for me?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Sterling's gone off on a vendetta. He wants three people taken out without proof of anything. He's not stable enough to continue your plan."

"What's wrong with your voice?"

"I was shot while doing your bidding, by doing what Sterling sent me to do."

"You're unable to complete your assignment?"

"For tonight, I am. Tomorrow, I'll be fine."

"Good, good. Tomorrow is soon enough. You know what must be done."

"He'll be taken care of."

As the line went dead, the man slumped against the headboard of the bed on which he was sitting. With shallow breaths, he eased off the bed, ignoring most of the pain. What he was about to do to stop the bleeding would hurt even worse.

---

Daniel ran into the ER to see Agent Gibbs walking out of the bathroom. He'd been following Jenna since they left the NCIS building. Knowing how much Damien favored her, and seeing that Agent Gibbs felt the need to continue their buddy system, he'd felt it prudent to be nearby to protect her. Once again, fate had twisted things so that neither man was able to prevent her from being shot. He had chased the ambulance through the city, running red lights and nearly causing a wreck here and there. He had been right behind them until he'd had to find a parking space in that tiny piece of pavement the ER called a parking lot.

"Agent Gibbs, how is she?" he asked.

"Carver? What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked, taking the clipboard from the registration nurse. He stared at it blankly, and then filled in Jenna's name.

"I work for DAX, Gibbs. Jenna is very close to Damien and I… I have to call him," Daniel said, taking out his cell phone.

A ring distracted both men and Gibbs realized it was Jenna's cell phone. "Yeah," he answered.

"This is Damien Xavier, is Jenna available?"

Gibbs looked at Daniel, "You don't have to call him, Carver." Addressing the man on the line, he said, "Mr. Xavier, there's been an incident. Jenna was shot and she's in surgery now."

"Jenna was shot? Good God, man, I thought you were protecting her! What hospital are you at?"

Gibbs ignored the insult to his ability to protect Jenna and told him the hospital's name.

"My plane is just touching down in DC. I'll be there shortly, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs pulled the phone away from his ear. It wasn't often that someone hung up on him. Looking at the PI, he told him, "Xavier will be here shortly."

He put the phone in his pocket and looked behind Carver to see Tim running to catch Brenna as she came through the entrance.

"Where is she?" Brenna demanded.

"They have her in surgery right now." Gibbs told her.

"What happened? How on earth did she get shot?"

Gibbs was caught in eyes that looked so similar to Jenna's. "Jenna walked outside to get her cell phone when the guy grabbed her and dragged her off the porch. She struggled with him; just about got away. She took a bullet to the abdomen, but I wounded the guy before he fled."

"Have you spoken with the doctor?" Brenna asked, her eyes pleading with him to tell her Jenna would recover.

"No; no one has been out yet."

Brenna's eyes filled with tears and Tim grabbed her before she fell. She'd been so strong until then and for a moment she leaned into him, fighting her tears. Her tears wouldn't help; they couldn't save Jenna. She would be strong for her sister and she'd be waiting for her when they told her she was okay.

Pulling away from Tim, she noticed that Tony, Abby, Ziva and Steph had arrived practically on their heels. They all had worried expressions on their faces. Angry at the doubts filling her mind about her sister's welfare, she told them, "Jenna will be fine. She's going to pull through this."

Tim put his arm around her and Abby came forward to hug her tightly. "Of course she will!" Abby said.

Brenna returned Abby's hug, and then pulled back to smile at her. "Thanks," she said softly. "Seriously, y'all. I don't want anything negative spoken about her condition. Positive thoughts and positive words. That's all."

Everyone nodded in agreement, willing to respect the wishes of Jenna's sister. Tim and Abby stood on either side of Brenna, each touching her in a comforting way. They walked over to some chairs in the waiting area and took a seat.

Tony stood next to Gibbs and Carver, but kept an eye on the door. The last thing they needed was for things to come to head while they were in the hospital emergency room.

Ziva smiled absently at Brenna and the others who had been seated, but was battling confusion. She didn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to face the facts as they are and move forward, fully informed and ready to act. She remembered that Abby was always that way as well – preferring to focus on the positive alone. In fact, she had nearly taken her head off for speaking the wrong thing when they had believed Tony to be dead. She shook her head, casting her memories aside. Knowing the best way to resolve the issue was to stop the person behind the problem, she turned to report to Gibbs.

"Larson's team went over the crime scene and the street in front of your house. They found two bullets on the street and blood as well. We believe you shot him, we just do not know how much damage it did. Also, the casing from the bullet that shot Jenna was found."

Another cell phone started ringing and everyone looked to see Steph step away and answer her phone. She spoke in low tones, and the call was short. She faced them once more. "I've been called back in." Looking at Brenna, she told her, "I'd stay if I could."

Brenna nodded. "Thank you for that."

"I'll call to check on her tomorrow," Steph said as she hurriedly left.

"Sir, have you completed that form yet?" the nurse asked.

Gibbs carried the clipboard over to Brenna. "They need her information."

"Oh! Of course!"

---

Brenna was speaking quietly with McGee, talking to him about Jenna, when a man with salt and pepper hair caught her eye. "Damien?"

The man's head turned and he rushed over. "Brenna! Where's Jenna? Is she okay? How are you? Is there something I can do?"

Brenna smiled and hugged him as he wrapped her in a big bear hug. "We haven't talked to the doctors yet, Damien, but I'm sure she's going to be fine."

"Where's Agent Gibbs?"

"Damien, he's been good to Jenna, don't tear into him because of this," Brenna cautioned.

"He was protecting her, wasn't he? And she was shot on his watch?" Damien asked.

"Yes," Gibbs said from behind Damien.

Damien turned around and stared at Gibbs, neither man giving any ground until Brenna touched them both on the arm. "Can we save the alpha male stuff until after we hear how Jenna's doing?"

Both men agreed, and Damien said to Brenna, "I need to speak with you for a moment."

As they walked away, Gibbs heard him ask her about Franklin and the drug. He was left to wonder exactly what the relationship was between Damien Xavier and the Davis sisters.

---

Brenna stuffed the book back into her purse. After making several attempts over the past few hours to read, she found that she had advanced five chapters, but had no idea what they said. It wasn't just worry for Jenna that skewed her concentration, although that was at the top of the list. McGee had been sitting next to her while she tried to read. Every time one of them shifted, a part of his leg would touch hers and her breath would catch. Standing, she was ready to try, once again, to drink a cup of the sludge the hospital called coffee, when a surgeon walking down the hall called out her name.

She tried to answer him, but her throat closed at the look on his face and the slow way he removed the surgical cap from his head. He called her name again and McGee answered for her, "This is Brenna Davis."

She found herself in a protective semi-circle; McGee and Abby were on either side of her, and flanking them were DiNozzo, Ziva, Gibbs and Daniel. Each person had noticed the slow way the doctor walked. Damien was returning with his third coffee and he saw the looks on everyone's faces.

"Doctor, you have word on Jenna's condition?" He asked the question no one had been able to voice until then.

The doctor looked at those that had come together to support the woman he'd just operated on. "Yes, I do." Noting the worry and concern on every face, in each set of eyes, he hurriedly assured them, "She came through surgery fine. The bullet pierced her spleen and broke a rib. We were able to remove the complete bullet and set it aside as evidence for NCIS. We also had to remove her spleen."

"Her spleen? You had to take it?" Damien asked.

"Yes, but people can lead healthy, normal lives without one. We've moved her into recovery and we'll be waking her up soon. Now, Ms. Davis, if you'd like to follow me, I think we can convince the nurse to allow you to sit with her as she comes around."

"Yes, yes, thank you doctor!" Brenna said as she hugged McGee and then Abby. "She's going to be fine! That is just the best news ever." She beamed as she allowed the doctor to take her to Jenna.


	16. A New Hope

**Chapter Sixteen – A New Hope**

Brenna was staring at Jenna as her eyes opened. Her smile lit up the recovery room and she whispered, "Jenna! Hey there, sleepy head!"

Still groggy from the drugs, Jenna focused on her sister's face. "Brenna? Hey." She smiled softly.

"How ya doin', kiddo?" Brenna asked.

"I've been better," she answered, and then smiled. "I'm fine; honestly."

"I love you."

Jenna teared up at the admission from her sister. They didn't speak their feelings aloud often enough. "Love you too, sis."

"Don't you dare get shot again, do you hear me?"

Jenna chuckled and then winced at the pain.

The nurse peeked around the curtain and saw that Jenna was coming out of the anesthesia. "Ms. Davis, we have a room ready for your sister. Since she's waking, we'll need to move her now."

Brenna nodded and squeezed Jenna's hand once more before stepping out to tell the others.

---

The team stood when Brenna approached them. "How is she?" Tim asked.

She grinned and told them, "She woke up for a few moments and so they are going to move her into a room. The nurse said they'd try to locate a cot or something for me to sleep on and put it in her room."

Gibbs spoke up. "You're not staying here. You're going home to get some rest. McGee, keep her safe," he continued, shifting his focus to McGee. McGee acknowledged the order with a nod of his head, and reached to gently take Brenna's arm.

"I need to stay with Jenna, Agent Gibbs. I'm not going anywhere," she pulled her arm away from McGee almost violently, and faced Gibbs with determination in her eyes.

"Yes, you are. McGee, take her to your place and sit on her if you have to. She is not to come back here until she rests. Tony, take Abby home. I'll be here with Jenna."

"Daniel, you stay downstairs and keep watch," Damien ordered and didn't flinch at Gibbs' angry look. "You messed up once, Agent Gibbs, don't let it happen again." He strode down the hall, taking Daniel with him.

"I'm not leaving her," Brenna insisted.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked.

"On it, Boss." He looked at his boss and then shrugged his shoulders. Brenna squealed in protest as McGee picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder, and began walking toward the hospital entrance. She stared back at Gibbs, her eyes bearing into his like daggers. He smirked.

---

The atmosphere at Tony's apartment was quite relaxed, considering the chaos of the two days prior. Abby lounged on his sofa, flipping through television channels so quickly that Tony wondered if she even knew what she was looking for.

"Hey, Abs. Can I ask you something?" Tony inquired quietly, reaching for the remote control. She passed it to him, and the clicked the power button.

She smiled, "Anything for you, Tony." He smiled in return. If only that were true.

"Would you really be THAT upset if McGee hooked up with Brenna Davis?"

"Yes," she answered immediately. "No," she continued, as her face contorted into one of confusion. She crinkled her brow. "I don't know."

"Are you in love with him?"

"No," she giggled. "Not at all."

"Then what exactly is the problem?" Tony asked, forcing her to confront her true feelings on the matter.

"I don't love him, but he adores me. I kinda like being the center of his world. He's MY geek – MY friend, you know?"

"I guess," Tony hedged uncomfortably. "I just don't get it."

Abby turned to face him. "I am an evil person, Tony," she sighed. "When I first met Tim, I went out with him a few times, had some awesome sex and quite a few laughs – it was fun. But I knew I wasn't serious. He didn't." She paused. "I hurt him. I know that. And after all this time – through building a strong friendship and flirting and being jealous of one another, he's never gotten over me completely. It's kind of nice to know that, no matter what, he'll always be there waiting; to catch me if I fall, or love me if I'm lonely."

"First of all, you're not evil – just human. Second of all, there are other people out there that wouldn't mind catching you every once in a while," he admitted quietly.

"Tony," Abby said on a half giggle, her voice suddenly husky. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing; I just think it's time to let Tim go," he said nonchalantly as he stood and stretched. "I gotta pee," he said, as he hurried out of the room.

---

Sterling stood in the hotel alley, angered about being ordered to meet here. He watched as his best man slowly walked into the alley. "What is this? Who do you think you are, giving me orders?"

The man smiled and Sterling finally saw in him what made others afraid. "You've outdone yourself this time, Sterling. Someone thinks you're a liability."

"What are you telling me this for?"

"Because I was ordered to kill you. But, I'm willing to forget that order."

"For what?" Sterling asked, knowing what the man was after.

"Money, of course. What else do you have that I'd want?"

Wanting to be done with this situation, Sterling told him, "Name your price."

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Blood appeared through his shirt and he slowly crumpled to the pavement, just as another bullet zipped through the air, piercing Sterling Lancaster's cold heart and killing him with one shot.

---

Gibbs ignored the cot brought in by the staff, choosing instead to sit by Jenna as she slept off the effects of the drugs. He'd spoken with the doctor and knew she would most likely sleep until the morning, but he still kept watch. They wouldn't reach her a second time.

Jenna moved her hand and he looked up to see her eyes open. "Gibbs? Where's Brenna?"

"With McGee."

"Protection detail?" she asked, and he nodded. "What have the doctors said?"

Remembering that she was injured and also not completely accustomed to his bluntness, he explained a little. "The surgeon said the bullet pierced your spleen so they removed it. It also broke a rib, so you'll be sore from both things."

Trying to joke, Jenna said, "Oh, well if that's all…" She looked at him and told him, "I'm sorry I went outside. I knew I was supposed to stay in the house, but I didn't think… I just didn't think."

"This isn't your fault, Jenna. I should have listened to my gut and checked us into a motel."

"How can you say this isn't my fault? If I hadn't stayed silent all theses years, this wouldn't be happening."

"No, you'd be dead instead of wounded and your sister might be too. You survived by listening to your instincts, which is what I should have done tonight."

Jenna blinked, studying the expression on his face and the seriousness in his eyes. "You didn't shoot me, Gibbs. You didn't hurt me."

"I didn't protect you."

"Oh my goodness, Gibbs! If I wasn't starting to feel some pain, I'd sit up and kiss you quiet. It worked with McGee."

Gibbs was a bit shocked at her statement, but before he could say anything, his phone rang. "Gibbs…. Yeah…. When?... I'll let the team know."

Disconnecting and then dialing Ziva's number, he looked at Jenna. When Ziva answered, he told them both, "Sterling Lancaster was just found dead in an alley behind a hotel here in DC. There was a second victim, male, with a shoulder wound."

He hung up the phone. Ziva would let the team know and then go ride Larson's team until they gave her answers.

---

"I'm not going to apologize for doing my job," McGee said, attempting again to get Brenna to talk to him. She hadn't spoken to him since they left the hospital, which was definitely out of character considering she normally couldn't keep her mouth shut.

He moved to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. Brenna sighed and finally turned to face him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "She's my sister, McGee. I should be there, not here."

"You're safer here. Wouldn't Jenna want that?"

She shrugged and looked back down toward the bed.

"No; don't even act like you're not sure." He reached over and took her chin gently in his hand, pulling her head up so he could look into her eyes. "You know this is better. You need to rest so you can be there for her tomorrow."

"You're right," she said, and tried to smile at him. "But I still don't see what gives him the right to order me to leave my sister."

"You came to him for help," McGee answered.

"True, but…"

"No buts. Now why don't you take a bath or a long shower and think about trying to sleep," he suggested.

This time her smile was genuine. "I know I just showered before we left for the hospital, but it feels like it's been years. That sounds so amazing," she admitted.

McGee watched her as she gathered her things and made her way to the bathroom. He could hardly believe he had only known her for a few short days. When she turned to smile at him before shutting the bathroom door, he couldn't help but return it. She had the most captivating smile he had ever seen.

The ringing phone pulled him away from his thoughts. "McGee… Hey, Ziva… Are you sure? Got it," he said, disconnecting. He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Um… Brenna?"

"Yeah?"

"There's been a development in the case. Can you come out?"

She giggled. "Of course. Just give me a second."

She soon emerged from the bathroom in her green, satin nightgown. "I decided to forego the shower, and just try to sleep. What's up?"

Distracted by the sight of Brenna in her gown, he almost forgot to answer. His inspection of her started at her smooth legs, revealed by the short gown, and eventually ended at her eyes. Eventually.

"Agent McGee?" Brenna asked. "You said there was a development in the case…?"

"You can call me Tim," he said, blushing; "if you want."

"Okay, Tim," Brenna smiled, recognizing the signals he was giving off and wanting to jump up and down that he was finally really noticing her. "What was the report?"

"Oh! Well, it seems that both the guy who shot your sister and Sterling Lancaster were killed tonight. It appears all threats against you and your sister are resolved, but we still want to play it safe for a bit."

"Oh my gosh! Are you serious? How? I mean, what happened to Lancaster?" Brenna fired off questions, not pausing to breathe.

McGee smiled at her enthusiasm. "I honestly don't know. I'm sure we'll find out more tomorrow."

Brenna couldn't contain her excitement, and began dancing around his bedroom. She had the funniest expression on her face; he couldn't help but grin at her.

"What are you doing?"

"The Happy Dance!" Brenna said. "Come on, I'll show you."

"I don't think so."

"Tim! Please? It's not hard," Brenna begged. She pulled her lip into a pout, and he couldn't say no.

"Okay…" he said and very reluctantly stepped toward her. He could hardly believe he was about to act this silly with a woman he wanted to impress. But, even as he told himself it wasn't a smart move, he found himself being led through the steps. Eventually, he realized he was smiling.

"Now you have to make the face," Brenna told him. "Like this," she pulled her features into one of the silliest faces he had ever seen on anyone over the age of ten.

"No way," he laughed.

"But that's part of it," she said seriously.

Tim just shook his head, adamant about not mimicking her silly face. She smiled and walked toward him.

"Please?" she asked.

"Not gonna happen," he said, taking a step backward. Her smile became more flirtatious as his back reached the wall. She continued to advance.

"Pretty please?" she asked again.

He swallowed hard. "Nuh-uh," he shook his head.

When she finally reached him, Brenna had forgotten what she was originally trying to convince Tim to do. Their eyes met and sparks flew. She ceased breathing in the moment that she noticed he was staring at her mouth rather than her eyes, and she knew she was about to be kissed.

Tim couldn't stop himself, not that he wanted to. Since the impromptu kiss in the squad room, he had been thinking about Brenna's lips and how much he wanted to taste her again. Capturing her head gently, he leaned down to her, barely touching her lips, waiting for a response from her. At the little hitch in her breath, he pressed in and deepened the kiss, seeking an opening. Brenna willingly gave it. When they pulled back from one another, Tim saw the goose bumps on her arms and knew it was he that had caused that reaction and not the cool temperature in his apartment. Brenna was staring at his soft, full lips as she pulled him back down to her. Not breaking the kiss, he gathered her into his arms and carried her to the bed.


	17. Connecting the Dots

**Chapter 17 – Connecting the Dots**

Brenna had Tim take her to Abby's to pick up her truck the next morning, and then she headed straight for the hospital. She was torn between floating on air that they were no longer in danger and regret that they would be leaving DC soon. Entering Jenna's room, she panicked when the bed was empty. "Jenna?"

"In the bathroom," Jenna called.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Brenna asked.

Walking slowly out of the bathroom, Jenna smiled at her sister. "I'm being released today."

"What? After one night of observation?"

"Yep. It was that or I was going to leave against medical advice. You know I don't like lying around all day and hospitals make it worse. I gave the doctor my word that I'd rest at home. I didn't tell him that home was in San Antonio. Besides, there isn't anything they can do for the rib anyway." Jenna made her way back to the chair beside the bed, holding her left arm close to her side. "So, as long as I walk slowly, don't take deep breaths and rest a lot, I'm able to leave today."

"Where is Agent Gibbs? He can't possibly have agreed to this?"

"I didn't, but Jenna talked the doctor into it," Gibbs answered, suddenly behind her.

"You couldn't intimidate him into listening to reason?"

"Your sister's smile blinded him."

Jenna laughed, and then gasped. "Very funny, Gibbs. So, Brenna, where are we staying until we go home?"

"Well, Damien offered…"

"You're staying with me. I gave my word to the doctor that I'd watch you."

The sisters stared at Gibbs for a minute, and Brenna said, "Well, at least your things are already there, and Lord knows I shouldn't stay another night with Agent McGee."

"Wear out your welcome?" Gibbs asked.

"Something like that," Brenna answered softly. Catching the look in her sister's eyes, Jenna made a note that she needed to be sure to make some alone time to talk with her sister – and soon, by the look of things.

---

The team was waiting on the front porch when Gibbs pulled up, Brenna following in her truck. Gibbs carefully lifted Jenna out of the passenger seat of his car and carried her into the house. The agents got a chuckle when they saw her sleepy head lying on his shoulder and heard her say, "I can walk, Agent Gibbs."

She barely roused herself when Gibbs laid her on the bed she had slept in two nights before. She snuggled into the pillow and sighed when he pulled the covers over her. He headed back downstairs to find Tim and Brenna standing close, but looking almost miserable. Tony and Abby were talking and Ziva was looking at him as if she had something to tell him.

"Larson's team found some new information today," she said and everyone stopped talking.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Adam Franklin was a prawn in this whole drug thing."

"That's pawn, Ziva," Tony corrected.

"Thank you, Tony. Franklin was a pawn. They used him because he had access to the labs at DAX. The DEA and Larson were trying to search for the money behind this and they found it."

"And they have that person in custody, right?" Brenna asked.

"No," Ziva told her. "Because he's on Ducky's table at NCIS." Everyone stared at her and she smiled. "Sterling Lancaster was the money behind the development of the drug. They were very careful not to leave any paper trails, but there were meetings that Daniel Carver uncovered while digging into Franklin's past."

"So everything really is alright then?" Brenna wanted to know.

"Looks that way," Gibbs said.

Brenna smiled and then laughed. "That's great news! We won't have to be looking over our shoulder anymore!" She looked at Tim and some of her jubilation faded. "I'm going to go check on Jenna and tell her the news."

As she walked up the stairs, she could feel his eyes following her. She reached the top and realized she didn't know which room Jenna was in. Taking a chance, she opened the door on the right and found her, nestled under the covers. Brenna leaned down to kiss her on the forehead and Jenna said, "Bren? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is perfect," she said, laying a hand on her sister's arm. "The threat against us has been completely alleviated. It turns out that Franklin was working for Lancaster! Can you believe that?"

"Are you serious?" Jenna asked, trying to connect the dots in her medicine-fogged brain.

"Completely," Brenna said with a smile.

"What happened last night? With Agent McGee?" Jenna asked. Seeing her sister's hesitancy, she continued. "Don't even say 'nothing'."

Brenna grinned sheepishly at her sister who knew her so well. "Nothing and everything. What do you think of DC?"

"What do I think of DC?" Jenna asked, very confused. "Please just tell me, Bren, I can't play guessing games right now."

"Actually, things were going very well. We found out that you were fine, and then that we were most likely safe – everything was happy. And then he kissed me. Which was… well, there are no words. I'll just say very good. And things started, well, you know…"

"You slept with him?" Jenna asked, surprised that her sister would move that quickly, especially considering it had been at least a year since she had really dated anyone.

"No. Well, yeah, I slept with him – he only has one bed. But no, we didn't have sex." Brenna let out a long sigh. "I wanted to. I really, really wanted to. I think he's just amazing. But the fact is we live really far apart, and I'm just not built for casual sex. I can't do it. So after leading him on, I pushed him away. He was really frustrated with me, and I don't blame him."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Jenna told her. "You were just being honest. If he's any kind of man, he'll respect that."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't have to sleep next to a man that you want more than anything and can't have."

Jenna gave her sister a frustrated look. She knew exactly what she meant.

---

After a great night's sleep, Steph was feeling very refreshed. She'd spoken with Ziva and learned that everyone was gathered at Agent Gibbs' house for dinner. Ziva had invited her over and so she was looking through her clothes to find something appropriate. She chose a pair of black pants and a blue shirt that made her blue eyes pop. She checked her reflection in the mirror and then left the hotel. She had to return to New York soon, but she was determined to have fun while in DC.

---

Gibbs brought Jenna downstairs to sip on soup while everyone else was preparing to eat steak and baked potatoes. Jenna looked longingly at her favorite meal and sighed. She was supposed to stay on liquids for another day and then move to soft solids. What exactly was a 'soft' solid?

The team was mingling and setting the table, looking forward to some much deserved wind down time.

Pulling his coworker aside, Tony asked, "What's up with you, Probie? You're walking around like you just found out Darth Vader is your father."

"It's nothing," McGee said distractedly.

"Or Leia's your sister." Tony gasped, "Brenna's your sister?"

"No, Tony," McGee shook his head, finally cracking a smile. "Things are just stressful right now."

"Stressful? You have much to learn, young Padawan," Tony said, patting him on the back. "The threat against the girls is gone; now's the time to make your move."

"Duh, Tony," McGee answered. "Did that."

"Oh-ooohhhh!" Tony said. "I see; shot down…"

"Not exactly."

"So you…" Tony wagged his eyebrows and nodded toward Brenna. "You… you know…"

"No."

Tony sighed. "Well, when you got it, you got it. And when you don't…" he trailed off and gave McGee a sympathetic look.

"It wasn't like that," McGee insisted.

"Sure," Tony said, picking up his beer and heading back into the kitchen. "Someday I'll give you a lesson," he called back over his shoulder.

The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of someone unaware of Gibbs' 'open door' philosophy. He opened it and Steph was standing there. From where she was sitting, Jenna could see she was lovely and she noticed how Gibbs took several moments to appreciate that. Then he smiled at her and ushered her into his home with a hand on the small of her back. Jenna ducked her head and stared into her soup.

Brenna crossed the room to give Steph a hug. "Thank you so much for all your help in this. I mean, besides knocking Tony out and trying to nab Abby, of course."

Steph laughed. "I guess all your secrets are safe now."

Ziva chimed in, "Ducky said the records have shown that, even without the car race, the drugs Mike Lancaster took that fateful night would most likely still have killed him."

"The way I see it, no one ever has to know," Gibbs agreed.

"Know what?" Tony teased.

"Gibbs," Abby called. "What are we going to do now?"

"EAT!" Tony replied loudly, causing everyone to laugh.

"You would say that, Tony," Ziva scolded him.

"Everyone's a critic," Tony muttered. "But seriously, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Tim reminded him.

"Jenna-babe," Brenna gave her sister a compassionate look. "Would you feel better if I ate soup?"

"Yes!" Jenna said with a pout.

Brenna chuckled as she walked over to the cabinet to exchange her plate for a bowl.

"You're seriously gonna eat soup?" Tony asked.

"Sure," Brenna said. "Steak is literally Jenna's favorite food in the world. I can wait until she can eat."

"Aww…" Abby said. "I'll take soup, too," she smiled. Brenna handed her a bowl.

McGee and Tony exchanged worried glances.

Ziva shrugged, "Suit yourself. I'm having steak."

Jenna smiled. "That's sweet, but I was kidding. Y'all can eat steak."

"Not a chance," Tony said, not wanting the others to show him up. Tim frowned and then shrugged his shoulders, accepting the bowl Brenna offered.

Gibbs smirked. "I invite you to dinner at my house, and only Ziva will eat my cooking?"

Jenna met his eyes and mouthed the words 'thank you', to which he responded only by the slight nodding of his head.

Soon, everyone was eating steak and baked potatoes, and enjoying themselves. Even the tension between Tim and Brenna seemed to have eased a little.

"I'm gonna miss y'all," Jenna said, looking around the room at her new-found friends.

"Oh, I know!" Abby said excitedly. "You should just move to DC!"

The sisters shared looks from across the table, and Jenna could see how much Brenna would like that to be true.

"You never know," Jenna said cryptically. She noticed her sister give her a curious look, but answered it only with a smile. She then turned to look at Gibbs, "Besides, the way I see it, you owe me a steak."


	18. Going Forward

**Chapter Eighteen – Going Forward**

Jenna walked down the stairs carefully. She was thirsty again. Pausing at the bottom, she caught her breath and turned to go to the kitchen. Shocked, she stood dead still in the doorway. Gibbs had his back to her and was kissing a woman who was sitting on the counter. Hurt and angry, she wanted to know why Steph couldn't have waited until she left his house before pouncing. She took a step back, unwilling to cause a scene, knowing he'd made his choice, when brown hair caught her eye. Steph didn't have brown hair. Gibbs lifted the woman and turned to walk out the kitchen and Jenna gasped. Brenna!

Jenna sat up in bed and immediately knew that was a mistake. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

The light came on and she looked up to see Gibbs framed in the doorway. "What happened?" He looked at her pale face and was beside her in a moment. "Just lie down and breathe, Jenna. Did you sit up too quickly?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Bad dream," she managed to get out before tensing again.

Gibbs nodded in understanding, and then told her, "Relax, tensing will only make it worse."

"What happened?" Brenna asked, standing in the doorway with her hair wrapped in a towel.

"I had a bad dream."

"Then you sat up too fast?" Brenna asked.

"Mmm-hmmm." Jenna managed to reply.

Brenna sat on the other side of Jenna and took her hand. "Try to relax, sweetie. Maybe it will help."

Jenna took a few more breaths, and then asked, "Is the bathroom free?"

---

Tony took one look at Gibbs coming off the elevator, grumpy face, coffee in hand, and decided there were two ways he could deal with what he was looking at: ignore it or joke about it. He decided to joke. "You know boss, I'm pretty sure a cold shower will cure what ails you."

Gibbs sat at his desk and glared at Tony from across the squad room. "That's all I get when those two are finished, DiNozzo. What have you got for me?"

Abby grinned and said, "I've got something for you Gibbs. The DNA came back. Your suspect's the thief."

The elevator doors opened again and Daniel Carver stepped out.

"Carver, what are you doing here?" Gibbs asked. Tony narrowed his eyes. He was thinking the same thing.

"I'm looking for Abby and I've found her," he said and, with a flourish, produced a bouquet of black roses for her.

Abby grinned and took the flowers from him. "Thank you, Daniel! What's the occasion?"

"I'd like for you to have dinner with me, Abby."

Breathing in the aroma of the roses, she studied him. He really was cute; black hair cut short and hazel eyes that watched her watching him. Raising her head from the flowers, she said, "I'd like that." She turned to Gibbs. "I still have some tests running, but the DNA is a definite match, Gibbs."

"Good work, Abs. Let me know about the other tests."

"Will do," she said and, taking Daniel by the arm, left the team alone.

Tony watched the whole scene, unhappy about Daniel and not liking the look in his eyes. He was about to comment when he noticed Ziva watching him. Grinning, he told her, "Everybody's getting hooked up around here. You would think we were on the Pacific Princess."

"The Pacific what?" Ziva asked and McGee groaned.

Tony started singing the theme to "The Love Boat", much to the annoyance of many of the room's occupants.

"Captain Stubing? You're wanted on the bridge," Gibbs interrupted, pulling Tony back to his desk.

Ziva looked confused, but McGee laughed full out.

---

Brenna opened the door for Jenna and they entered the restaurant. Damien stood from the table where his briefcase was sitting open. They were shown to the table and Damien hugged them both, taking care with Jenna.

"How are you feeling, Sweetheart?" he asked.

"I'm getting there," she told him.

"And you, Brenna?"

"I'm good."

"Please have a seat." He helped them both with their chairs and sat back down. "The reason I asked you both here today has to do with business."

The two women exchanged concerned looks and Jenna asked, "DAX was cleared, right? Things are okay now?"

He smiled, "Yes, things are fine now. Thanks to the evidence the DEA and NCIS recovered, myself, the company and both of you have been cleared. However, I've decided to change things up a bit."

"How so?" Brenna asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Brenna, because this will mainly affect you."

"Affect her how?" Jenna wanted to know, worrying now about the future.

Laughing at how protective the sisters were of each other, Damien assured her, "Not in a bad way, Sweetheart." Looking back to Brenna, "I'd like to offer you a promotion. You've been with the company for years now and your talents have shown again and again. I'd like to put you as the Deputy Director of R&D."

"Deputy Director?" she echoed. "Really?"

"Yes, really. And with that title comes new responsibilities and a raise. I've had the paperwork prepared for you to look over. If you agree to everything, we can institute this change as soon as we get back to San Antonio."

Taking the paperwork from him, she told him, "I'll definitely let you know something by tomorrow."

"That's good to hear," he told her, knowing how well she weighed her options before deciding anything. "Now, Jenna, I've spoken with the doctor from the hospital and he told me that you have to take it easy because of what you went through. I asked him why he released you early if he wanted you to rest and he told me you smiled at him."

Jenna grinned.

"There, that's what I'm talking about," he pointed to her smile, "that doesn't work on me." Correcting himself, he told her, "Most of the time and it's not going to work now either. Starting today, you have two weeks leave. If you take one step in the office before then, I'll extend it. Understand?"

"What will I do for two weeks?" Jenna asked.

"Clean house?" Brenna suggested.

"Like there is really that much to do once you've gone through the house." Jenna smiled. "I suppose I could play the happy housewife and have dinner on the table when you get home."

"That would be nice," Brenna said and they laughed.

Jenna took another look at her boss and knew he wasn't kidding. "Okay, Damien, two weeks leave and then I'll be back. Do not let my office get trashed while I'm recuperating, though; deal?"

"Deal," he agreed, and then looked at his watch. Now, I have a meeting that I need to get to. I'll leave you to finish your lunch and I'll see you at the hotel tomorrow?"

"Yes, we'll be there," Jenna agreed.

Damien closed his briefcase and stood. "Have a great afternoon, ladies. Thank you."

As lunch progressed, Brenna started looking through her paperwork and let out a surprised, "Oh!"

"What?" Jenna said, wiping her mouth.

"Damien's offering me a fifteen percent raise."

"Really? Brenna, that's awesome."

"I know."

Sighing, Jenna pushed her plate aside, "I'd ask why you seem sad, but I think I know. It's going to be hard on you, isn't it? Leaving Tim and DC?"

Brenna raised her head. "Yes, but how could I stay? My whole life is back in San Antonio."

Jenna nodded, knowing she hated to leave as well. "Yeah, I know. So, when do you want to leave? Today? Make a clean break, or as clean as you can? We can drop the papers off at Damien's hotel on our way out of town."

Mulling it over, Brenna nodded. "Yes, but I'd like to say goodbye first."

"Then let's do it," Jenna said, offering her sister an arm. Brenna stood and with linked arms, they made their way out of the restaurant.

---

The guard at the front door stared at the two subdued, normally lively women walking towards him. Passing through the detectors, they offered him smiles and walked on to the elevators. As the doors were closing, they gave him a little wave to show they were alright.

Coming off the elevator, the stood quietly until Ziva noticed them and everyone looked to see what was wrong.

"Hi everyone," Jenna started. "Where's Abby?"

"About to go to dinner," Abby said from behind them, and then noticed the looks on their faces. "What's wrong?"

Jenna bit her lip, miserable, and Brenna broke the news. "We came to say thank you for all that you've done for us."

"And that we've decided to go ahead and head back to San Antonio today."

"It's been great meeting all of you, and we appreciate your hospitality, Agent Gibbs."

"And your willingness to help and believe in us through all this."

Surprised and a bit sad that they were leaving so soon, DiNozzo did what he does best. "Enough already with the thank you words. Where are the thank you hugs and kisses?"

They couldn't help it, they cracked up and rushed DiNozzo, a sister on each side, hugging him and kissing each cheek. Taking turns, they hugged a reluctant Ziva and a sad but understanding Abby. Facing the two men they weren't ready to leave yet, Jenna hugged McGee and kissed his cheek while Brenna did the same to Gibbs.

Putting them out of their misery, Gibbs intervened. "McGee, take this stuff down to Abby's lab so she can leave for her big date."

"Um… sure, Boss," he said, as he started gathering the information the team had just put together.

"Aww… thanks, Gibbs!" Abby said, running over to kiss his cheek. "Bye, everyone!"

"Have fun," Tony said wistfully as she disappeared into the elevator.

"I will," she replied, her voice throaty and full of promise. Tony's mood quickly began to plummet.

Finally having gathered everything, McGee headed toward the elevator.

"Aren't you going with him?" Gibbs asked Brenna, as if she were missing something.

"Oh!" comprehension hit, and she rushed to hop on the elevator before the doors closed.

Jenna fiddled for a moment, and then said, "I'll wait for her in the truck."

Following behind her, Gibbs walked her out.

She turned to face him when she got to the truck. "You didn't have to walk me out, Agent Gibbs. Thanks to you, I'm safe to be on my own again."

Seeing their bags in the back seat, he asked, "How will you ever get your steak?"

Ignoring his question, she threw her arms around him and squeezed until it hurt. "Thank you for keeping me safe, Gibbs."

Tipping her head up to look in her eyes, he didn't know what to say. Jenna raised up and pressed her lips to his for a brief moment and whispered, "Thank you" against them before getting in the truck and closing the door.

---

The ride to Abby's lab was filled with longing looks and sad smiles.

"You're really leaving today?" Tim asked.

"We're really leaving today," Brenna echoed. "The truck's already packed. We're heading out straight from here."

"So, what you said the other night," Tim asked, "the part about going out with me if you lived here, were you serious?"

Brenna tore her eyes from him and looked at a nondescript speck on the wall of the elevator. "I was very serious. I think, if we lived closer, we could really have something together," she told him seriously. "But I'm hoping we'll keep in touch."

"You have my email address, right?" Tim asked, as the elevator doors opened and they exited the elevator.

"Yep," Brenna said with a smile.

They lingered outside the lab, neither of them in a hurry to move from their current location.

Tim shifted some of the materials into his right hand and raised his left to brush some hair away from Brenna's face. She looked up at him, her eyes focusing first on the pleasure mixed with sadness that colored his eyes, and then on his lips.

"Brenna?"

She smiled in answer to his unspoken question, and he dipped down to kiss her.

**THE END**

**A/N: Yeah, we know we left things kind of sad and unresolved, but we were going for realistic. There WILL be a sequel, and it will be soon. Be on the lookout!**


End file.
